Bear Digest

Governor Continues Down Recent Path Toward Keeping Bears In Illinois

Where once Gov. J.B. Pritzker was talking tough to the Bears, the very real threat of losing them to Indiana has sparked a different tone from politicians and reports say a deal is closer.
Gene Chamberlain|
The Arlington Heights Bears property sits dormant, but finally there is more serious thought being given to helping the Bears with infrastructure and tax certainty.
The Arlington Heights Bears property sits dormant, but finally there is more serious thought being given to helping the Bears with infrastructure and tax certainty. | Chicago Bears On SI Photo: Gene Chamberlain

In this story:

Chicago Bears

In a statement about the possibility of a Bears stadium at their Arlington Heights property, Gov. J.B. Pritzker raised hopes of keeping the team in the state through tax certainty legislation.

Whether this is actually where the talks are headed is uncertain, as Pritzker has said a lot of things that have changed over the course of the Bears stadium saga. At least this sounds as if Illinois lawmakers are wising up to the fact they really could lose the team to a stadium near Wolf Lake in Hammond, Ind., just across the border.

Speaking at Southwest Illinois College in Belleville as part of his campaign tour for reelecton, Pritzker tried Monday to walk a fine line between sounding like he was all in on helping the McCaskeys get the stadium built and supporting taxpayer concerns. In other words, he sounded like a politician running for election.

Fox news in Chicago is reporting numerous sources tell them the sides really are closing in on an agreement to build the Arlington Heights stadium. This type of report promising breakthroughs has been going on for months, though, and the real proof will be when Bears president Kevin Warren announces it.

"We’re in consistent conversation with the Chicago Bears," Pritzker told reporters Mondday. "The most important point I would make is we’re not going to do anything that’s bad for the taxpayers.

"We are helping businesses build infrastructure, and other things that are  available to any business that’s growing or building something new in the state of Illinois that’s putting people to work. Those are normal incentives, and that’s what I’d expect we’ll end up with for the Bears."

That's not all the Bears want, though. They are seeking tax certainty through  negotiations with the local school taxing districts and have already been in agreement with the area taxing bodies. They need the legislation to lock this in for a period of time as they build and develop the stadium.

Pritzker has voiced opposition to this as well, in the past, and also  claimed they needed to pay off the remaining debt on the 2002-03 Soldier Field reconstruction even though they have met their own obligation on that long ago. He wanted them to pay off the amount the city of Chicago mismanaged.

State waking up kind of late

Later, Pritzker admitted the Bears don't owe that money. All  they do owe is the remainder of their lease at Soldier Field, which runs through 2033.

In January, the Tribune reported the governor's office signed a contract for $25,000 to retain an outside attorney to advise the administration on negotiations. Since then Indiana has compiled and put forth legislation forming a stadium authority and needs only passage in its senate and the ratification Gov. Mike Braun.

The Indiana stadium wouldn't be owned by the Bears, but they would be the ones running it and it would be a better tax situation.

However, with the Arlington Heights dome plan the Bears would be building on their own property. They said they are putting forth $2 billion toward the construction.

Illinois will need to do more than pay lip service to its commitment to keeping the Bears in the state.  

Pritzker and legislators may be headed in the right direction toward getting it done but Indiana is unlikely to give up simply because of a competition now going on—one that never would have been necessary if Illinois lawmakers had been more responsive immediately instead of playing political football by trying to keep the Bears within the city in the first place.

More Chicago Bears News

X: BearsOnSI

Published
Gene Chamberlain
GENE CHAMBERLAIN

Gene Chamberlain has covered the Chicago Bears full time as a beat writer since 1994 and prior to this on a part-time basis for 10 years. He covered the Bears as a beat writer for Suburban Chicago Newspapers, the Daily Southtown, Copley News Service and has been a contributor for the Daily Herald, the Associated Press, Bear Report, CBS Sports.com and The Sporting News. He also has worked a prep sports writer for Tribune Newspapers and Sun-Times newspapers.