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Bear Digest

What NFL Stadium Committee Meeting Reportedly Produced for Bears

The Illinois Senate has the ball now and is taking its time, even as the NFL, the Bears, and the governor all urge a rapid passage of the stadium bill.
Gene Chamberlain|
A bridge near the proposed site for the new Bears stadium in Hammond.
A bridge near the proposed site for the new Bears stadium in Hammond. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Chicago Bears

The big meeting between the Bears and the NFL's stadium committee occurred Wednesday, and the end wasn't so big.

There was no real news reported from the meeting according to a post by ESPN's Courtney Cronin.

The committee merely sai Hammond, Ind. and Arlington Heights are the only two viable sites and there is a need to move ahead "expeditiously," Cronin reported.

A nothing burger on a nothing bun.

No one needed a league committee to say Arlington Heights and Hammond were the only two viable sites. This has been known for eight months. Soldier Field departure deniers in Chicago apparently have never understood it, as there are always strange suggestions being put forth on social media hoping to keep the Bears on the lakefront. Nothing there has been considered by the team since they announced early last September that they are focusing on their Arlington Heights property instead of Chicago.

The report by Cronin said there will be another meeting in two weeks. The stadium committee isn't going to tell the Bears whether they can move or where to move, because the team is looking to stay within its 75-mile area of influence. However, the Bears do plan to use league-offered funds to help build the stadium, so having support and listening league advice on this make total sense.

The megaproject bill enabling the Bears to secure tax certainty—the requirement for the Bears before they say they can go ahead with construction—is in the Illinois Senate's hands now after passing the House last week.  

It's a much different version of the bill with extra potential expense added on for the team  than than in the original plan. There has been no specific public reaction to the passed version coming from ownership, but the Senate now will have the ability to work changes to it.

The report did stress expedience, and this is important because the spring legislative session in Illinois concludes at the end of May. The Bears have said they plan to have a decision by late spring or early summer.

Even Gov. J.B. Pitzker is pushing for a more rapid approach from the legislature after first opposing their Arlington Heights push.

However, WGN on Tuesday reported Springfield seems in less of a hurry as senators pour over the law. Chicago’s Illinois State Senator Bill Cunningham, in fact, said they’ll take their time with the bill.

“Getting it right is more important than getting it done quickly,” WGN reported Cunningham as saying.

Waiting too long to get it right can mean the Bears leaving for Indiana

Indiana already has its plan for the stadium financing and construction finished. It's different than Illinois in that the Bears wouldn't own the facility or pay taxes but would rent it and run it.

Considering how slowly the legislature works in Illinois it won't be a shock to anyone if the meeting in two weeks by the same stadium committee has nothing new to discuss.

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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.

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