Bears: More work needed on bill (Updated)
Wednesday, Apr 22, 2026 - Posted by Isabel Miller
* The Bears…
Chicago Bears Statement on HB 910 Passing Out of the Illinois House:
“We welcome the progress made on the House’s version of the mega project bill; however, additional amendments are necessary to make the Arlington Heights site feasible for our stadium project. We support Illinois leaders as they determine the path forward to making the essential changes to the mega project bill and aligning on infrastructure funding.”
…Adding…. The Governor’s office…
“Governor Pritzker has been clear and consistent for years that the Bears should remain in Illinois, and that any legislation needs to protect taxpayers. Throughout the past few months, the Governor’s Office brought team leadership, local officials, and legislative partners to the table to craft a deal around public infrastructure improvements, property tax fairness, and affordability measures. Today is an important step, and the Governor’s Office looks forward to working with the Illinois General Assembly to advance a bill that reflects our shared priorities.”
- @misterjayem - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 8:56 pm:
Did the Bears get some new leverage of which the rest of us are unaware?
– MrJM
- Candy Dogood - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 9:18 pm:
===Did the Bears get some new leverage ===
They’re probably about to announce a stadium deal being offered by Iowa or Missouri at this point. Make way for the Bettendorf Bears!
Iowa’s already got the Iowa Cubs in Des Moines, why not the Iowa Bears?
- Candy Dogood - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 9:22 pm:
===Did the Bears get some new leverage ===
They’re probably about to announce a stadium deal being offered by Iowa or Missouri at this point. Make way for the Bettendorf Bears[reposted without banned punctuation]
Iowa’s already got the Iowa Cubs in Des Moines, why not the Iowa Bears?
- TNR - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 9:26 pm:
== Did the Bears get some new leverage ==
I don’t think so. Based on what the Speaker said in his press conference, tonight was primarily about showing that the House could pass something. What’s actually in the bill seems like an afterthought. Heck, check out the Bears statement. They need “essential changes” to their own bill?
- Irked Acorn - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 9:27 pm:
Someone should remind the Bears of the saying that pigs get fed and hogs get slaughtered.
- DuPage Saint - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 10:47 pm:
Well I guess it is too bad the Governor stopped that inside gambling thing because I would guess there is lots of money on both sides on this bill
- Frida's Boss - Wednesday, Apr 22, 26 @ 11:48 pm:
Performance theater. The House couldn’t get it done.
I think I heard this song last year, it was in the Top Ten hits of last session, it’s a catchy title but it drags on and on
“Fix it in the Senate”
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 2:19 am:
=== “Fix it in the Senate” ===
DRITH
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 5:51 am:
“Feasible” is doing a lot of work there, BTW.
Payton-level.
- lake county democrat - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 6:13 am:
What YDD said.
- Proud Papa Bear - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 6:18 am:
I’d like to buy this book about chutzpah, and I’d like you to pay for it.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 6:40 am:
Thanks Lake County Democrat.
The flipside is that polls are pretty clear that voters do not want to see taxpayer dollars used to support this deal. I have seen polls that are as high as 65% opposition.
I appreciate the efforts by many to create some sort of distinction between DCEO writing the Bears a check for $3 billion versus the state spending $1 billion on infrastructure upgrades and engineering $2 billion in tax breaks.
The public is not going to see it that way if some crypto PAC decides to drop $1 million in a Democratic primary or general Election against any Democrat.
In the old days you could do a handshake deal between George Ryan, Lee Daniels and Mike Madigan for a structured roll call and they would all agree to not go after each other over the issue.
Those days are over thanks to Citizens United. The GOP cannot make deals on behalf of DraftKings or Meta or Bitcoin. Neither, frankly, can Pat Ryan or the Chicago Bears.
- Downstate - Thursday, Apr 23, 26 @ 8:44 am:
Anecdotally…..I’m within 2 hours of St. Louis.
Even though the Rams departed more than 10 years ago, I’m stunned by the number of people that continue to travel to their games and continue to be rabid fans. I’d expect a similar response to an Indiana Bears. One irony: Indiana would have two NFL teams, while Illinois would have only one.