* Senate President Don Harmon…
The question I don’t think is ‘how this came together last night,’ but that we did anything at all.
There was an enormous undercurrent in our caucus to not do anything. People are worried about neighbors being thrown off of food stamps, people not being able to keep up with inflation because their wages aren’t coming up, losing in their health care because the hospitals and health care providers that serve them are being undercut by Washington. There was no appetite at all to provide public dollars to a $10 billion sports franchise.
As much as we love the Bears, I’m really proud that our caucus came together, and I don’t know, but for the leadership of Senator Bill Cunningham we could have convinced the caucus to make an effort to do this.
Senator Cunningham said it on the floor, and I think it’s true. All of us in our neighborhoods and communities heard basically the same thing: ‘Do whatever you need to do to keep the Bears here, but not one nickel.’
* Gov. JB Pritzker…
I know that the House has said that they’re going to continue to work on this over the summer. I think the question of special session is a question really for the legislators and not for the governor here. They’ve got to come to an agreement about something or other, and then either one can call a special legislative session. I can as well. […]
I will say I have not seen the completed Senate bill or read it, I have to say, nor has my staff, because, as the Speaker said, it came late, and that’s okay. Things happen, and we had a whole lot of things that were, you know, foisted upon the state that they were dealing with yesterday. But the Speaker is going to work hard to make sure that the House is making progress. I will certainly stand alongside them in any way that I can to assist in that endeavor, and our hope is that we’ll be able to provide something to the players that will work. […]
I think again they’re going to be conversations. There’s no final bill here. There is a bill that was proposed by the Senate, a bill and passed by the Senate, a bill that was passed by the House. There are other ways to go about this. I’m not sure, I think that those conversations will be ongoing among the legislators. I’ve set out my principles for everybody. We’ll see whether they get followed, and think what the Bears asked for were embedded in the principles, but not all of what they asked for. We’re not building a private stadium or a stadium for a private company, so that’s my view […]
I don’t want the Bears to leave Illinois, and I’ve worked very hard to make sure that they stay. Indeed, my original focus had been keeping them in the city of Chicago. They weren’t able to find a property to make that happen for them in the city of Chicago. It might be during my term in office, if they decide to go to, actually, they would leave after that, but if they decide to, and they’re building a stadium somewhere else, that might happen. But the reality is, I wasn’t willing to give up billions of dollars of taxpayer money in order to give it to a billionaire-owned family or team, and believe very much that the incentives that we provide for businesses ought to be similar to the incentives we provide to this type of business, as much as an emotional connection as many of us have to the Bears and to keeping them in the city of Chicago or in the state of Illinois. Number one principle is we’re not going to put this on the taxpayers of the state of Illinois.
* House Speaker Chris Welch…
I hate to sound like a broken record, but some of these issues take time, you know. The votes weren’t there to pass a bill for the Bears, but just being about the Bears, the votes weren’t there. A vote just about Springfield wasn’t there. Sometimes we have to figure out a way to get to 60/30 on a bill that one person will sign, you know, I didn’t ask the members their specific issues, I asked where they were, yes or no. In the final hours of the session, the votes weren’t there, and we’re going to continue to have those conversations to find out what the specific issues are, and we’ll get there, and you know we’re here, we’re very much a part of Springfield and the economy and what goes on here, and we want to see something happen, but what will happen will be what is right.
Please pardon any transcription errors.
- Candy Dogood - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 1:43 pm:
The dog ate it.
- Annon'in - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 1:51 pm:
Both Harmon and Welch are keeerect. Once the MCCaskey give away got tied up with local property taxes it was not very attractive “to do” item. Now as we wait for the next brainstorm from Kevin Warren or the McCaskey’s to fire the flare gun for Indy to launch the rescue raft, interested parties can focus on whether Bear Wolf Lake/Swamp site can ever be built on even after remediation AND more details on the thinking to buy Arlington Park from Churchill Downs and unilaterally declare it their new home OR even start with an FOI for all communication of how the McCaskey’s came to work with Chicago Park District on the Soldier Field. It sure seems every time the McCaskey’s had the ball they fumbled.
- DuPage Saint - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 1:53 pm:
The Speaker is correct. Things take time. It was a complete surprise this year that the session would end on May 31 st this year. I mean who knew that?
- Rahm's Parking Meter - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 1:56 pm:
Like I said earlier, and I am not doubting any of the three principals - how do you fix it?
- lol - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 2:04 pm:
watching today’s presser illuminated everything wrong with the press corps. chicago media showing up to springfield for this but MIA over the last few years as they’ve dealt with real issues. More questions today about the bears than any other issue plaguing the state including rural healthcare at risk and people being kicked off snap. Barely any questions about the other legislative initatives that were passed and discussed this year. they’re lucky the gov’s team didn’t cut it off early cause otherwise the ony questions would have been about the bears
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 2:07 pm:
===chicago media showing up to springfield for this but MIA over the last few years as they’ve dealt with real issues===
This has happened for decades. But the Bears stadium is also the biggest session story (national coverage) since the impasse.
- Sox Fan - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 2:14 pm:
===There was no appetite at all to provide public dollars to a $10 billion sports franchise.===
Allowing a professional sports team to pay no property taxes is equivalent to providing public dollars to a $10 billion sports team (that lost revenue has to be made up somehow). And the senate voted for it. To say there was no appetite is disingenuous at best
- Annon'in - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 2:15 pm:
Speakin’ of stadiums here is a portion of NYT on SoFI spat (Perhaps we need a CNI round-up on stadium giveaways elsewhere is US
The $400 Million Showdown Between a Billionaire and a California Mayor
The owner of the Los Angeles Rams and the City of Inglewood are in a dispute over Hollywood Park and SoFi Stadium, which is about to host World Cup matches.
Inglewood, Calif., argues that its 2015 development agreement with Hollywood Park, which includes SoFi Stadium, is void because of a subsequent state court decision.
Matt Stevens Ken Belson Emmanuel Morgan
By Matt Stevens Ken Belson and Emmanuel Morgan
Reporting from Inglewood, Calif.
May 27, 2026
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The New York Times on Google
SoFi Stadium was hailed as one of the world’s premier sporting venues when it opened in Inglewood, Calif., in 2020. And to the city’s delight, the owner of the Los Angeles Rams, E. Stanley Kroenke, and his development group paid for the $5 billion project without government funding.
But six years later, as Inglewood and Mr. Kroenke prepare to host the first men’s World Cup match in the United States in 32 years, the bonhomie between the partners is being tested.
Hollywood Park, shorthand for Mr. Kroenke’s 300-acre retail, office and residential development that includes SoFi Stadium, is demanding roughly $400 million as reimbursement for improvements it made to its property and the surrounding area, citing the development agreement it struck with the city in 2015. Inglewood is pushing back, arguing that the agreement is void because of a subsequent state court decision that invalidates agreements adopted by voter initiative.
Once SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park opened, they became a magnet for more development: a new Metro line, the billionaire Steve Ballmer’s Intuit Dome and the rebranding of the remodeled Kia Forum. Everyone and everything — a Super Bowl, Bad Bunny, a FireAid benefit — have filled the venues, attracting fans from across the nation and locals from all around town.
When the world arrives in Los Angeles for the 2028 Summer Olympics, SoFi Stadium will host two of the most high-profile events, the opening ceremony and the swimming competitions.
Mr. Kroenke’s development turned the city’s fortunes around, his lawyers have argued in court documents, which say that Inglewood’s unemployment rate has dropped roughly a dozen percentage points, to 4.7 percent, and that real estate values have doubled. Those lawyers say that if Inglewood prevails in this dispute, it could affect other developments in California.
- Friendly Bob Adams - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 2:16 pm:
At this point I say just let them go to Indiana. Haven’t been to a game in 15 years. It’s just a TV show.
- Ducky - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 2:18 pm:
Quite the backtrack from the Governor. Not a good look. If he had been consistent from the start that that state wasn’t helping the Bears it would’ve been easier.
- Diane - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 2:22 pm:
The kind of race to the bottom tax incentives that usually power these sports stadium fights just don’t work as well when everyone is tightening their belts. Maybe the Bears will find what they’re looking for in Indiana, but I think Harmon speaks for most folks in Illinois.
- @misterjayem - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 2:24 pm:
I’m no football expert, but to my ignorant eyes, “We’re not building a private stadium or a stadium for a private company” is very different from “the state isn’t helping the bears.”
– MrJM
- Ron - In Texas - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 2:24 pm:
having went to at least 1 or 2 bears games a year for 20+ years Its a sad thing. I get it in this political climate, I do.
But what I would think would worry Illinois politicians is that sports teams are even visceral to the non-political.
loosing the Bears is not a good look. And this crying about not enough time? Thats some excuse. They know when sessions are in, when complex bills need to be worked on, etc.
Too bad. This looks bad for Chicago and Illinois.
- wut - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 2:25 pm:
When has the governor’s position changed? He’s literally said the same thing for years. No money to build a stadium, only the same thing we would do to help any business come to/expand in IL: infrastructure.
- Johnny B - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 2:32 pm:
These guys all ordered the crow special for lunch today.
- Chicagonk - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 2:32 pm:
The problem right now is perception. This is a big story and if the Bears end up in Indiana, no one comes out looking good.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 2:33 pm:
Da punt. It seems to me the Bears would just go to Indiana if it was all about money. Indiana has basically proposed giving up the farm to get them to Hammond. But the Bears have not committed. It is getting boring to me. Maybe they do something in the lame duck session. Harmon’s statement does not ring very true to me. The GA has discussed the Bears for years now, so it seems hollow to say “but actually we really care about pocketbook issues.”
- 4th and Never - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 2:35 pm:
They’re not going to Indiana. They’d have announced it this morning at 9 am. The bluff was called. The McCaskey’s are the most impoverished billionaire owners I’ve ever seen. They’ve treated a public stadium subsidy as their birthright since the day of the AH purchase announcement because Ted Phillips insisted he knew better than everybody else. Then they brought in Kevin Warren who made Ted Phillips look Machiavellian. I feel bad for their lobbyists who were constantly put in untenable positions. They’ll be playing in Soldier Field on year-to-year extensions for the next decade.
- btowntruth from forgottonia - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 2:57 pm:
They are calling the Bears bluff.
Good on them.
And I say this as a near lifelong Bears fan.
- Demoralized - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 3:03 pm:
==They’re not going to Indiana.==
I don’t think the NFL is going to allow them to stay in Soldier Field as is.
- GoneFishing - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 3:11 pm:
I think the GA just called the Bears bluff. The Bears don’t seem to want to leave and did the same thing they did last time which ended up with the current stadium. Not saying they will be in Chicago but reading the tea leaves seems like they don’t want to face the fans and leave the state.
- B - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 3:14 pm:
I am proud of my state. States need to stand up against billionaires especially sports owners.
Let them go to the toxic waste heap of Indiana. Let them abuse Indiana tax payers instead. It will be our name on the team. It will be Ohare that out if area folks fly into for games and events, maybe even Midway. Downtown Chicago with all its beauty and food and endless entertainment and hotel options are on the way to the stadium between both airports. People will be staying in Chicago, not Indiana. Indiana will pay for all of it to get little to none of the reward and none of the name power.
Well done Illinois Government. Well done.
- Lincoln Lad - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 3:20 pm:
Reading between the lines of the leader’s and Gov’s statements, it sounds like they are Indiana bound. As has been the case from the beginning, Illinois’ idle words will lose to Indiana’s fervent desire to have a second NFL team within their borders.
- P. - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 3:25 pm:
Harmon nails the better to have loved and lost than never loved at all response.
- joe - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 3:27 pm:
QUESTION: If ‘da Bears want to be in Arlington, why don’t they work with local Units of Government to create an Enterprise Zone (EZ) around the proposed statement - OR extend an existing EZ about a mile to cover that area. Provides a lot of new construction benefits and allows ‘da Bears to negotiate a Payment in Liu of Taxes (PILOT) Property Tax deal - all administratively, without bothering the General Assembly further. (Our friends at DCEO know this is often done.)
- Let there be Sunshine - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 3:42 pm:
Enough word salad in those statements for a week long buffet at Golden Corral…….
- Old IL Dude - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 3:47 pm:
ya know, it just dawned on me. The Bears will play, at most 15 home games a year. That’s including 3 pre-season games and a run to the Superb Owl, provided all playoff games are home games. That’s an insane amount of money for this.
- Give Us Barabbas - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 3:57 pm:
The Bears owners must be the worst poker players I have ever seen. They saw what happened and the Lloyd Christmas response is: “so you’re saying there’s a chance.”
- Steve - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 4:02 pm:
As a down-stater (anyone south of Joliet) and all I see is a lot of money from the rest of the state going to be spent on infrastructure and facilities OUTSIDE of the stadium itself. The stadium may be the cheapest part. Let them go to Indiana, it is still the same drive from downstate and we don’t get stuck with paying for all the millions of incidental dollars.
- Proud Papa Bear - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 4:13 pm:
I believe it’s a case in which passing nothing was much better than passing something. Call their bluff. Let the broverse scream about it. We have much more pressing concerns.
Again, I’m very proud of my state.
- thisjustinagain - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 4:35 pm:
Now is the summer of the Bear’s discontent. They face a decision they thought would never need to be decided; to go to Indiana or not?
- Sue - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 4:59 pm:
It is all about priorities- Billions spent of migrant health care- not saying its equivalent - its not- frankly- JB would be in better shape to announce the Bears loss if he was not shaving money from municipal revenue sharing- as the Dems have a super majority- if there was a strong impetus to retain the Bears it would have occurred- the team should recognize they are better off taking the certainty in Indiana from a Governor and legislature that finds it important to host an NFL franchise with the historical significance of the Bears
- Grandson of Man - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 5:57 pm:
By leaving Chicago and playing Illinois against Indiana, that is abandoning and pawning off communities nearby, some of whom rely on employment involving the Bears being near their communities. Who serving those communities is supposed to easily vote for that?
If the Bears leave Illinois, they should leave the name Chicago. Who wants that name anyway in Indiana? Chicago is the epicenter of red state hatred. They can compromise and call it the Illiana Bears.
- Steve - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 6:10 pm:
I can’t disagree with what JB said. If the Bears want to leave: let them leave. The politicians here are actually being very responsible.
- Pundent - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 6:21 pm:
=Billions spent of migrant health care=
Huh? I think your beef is with Texas. And if your argument is that we can’t afford a Bears stadium because we weren’t willing to let migrants die, that’s pretty twisted. And I can’t even begin to decipher the rest of your word salad.
- low level - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 6:22 pm:
Speaker Welch said it - the bill did not have the votes in the House. All the high priced lobbyists the Bears have hired haven’t helped, apparently. Just for myself, I could care less where they play. The last game iI went to at Soldier Field was in 2008. No plans to return anytime soon. I will watch on tv regardless of where they play.
- RNUG - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 7:26 pm:
== I don’t think the NFL is going to allow them to stay in Soldier Field as is. ==
Then the NFL can pay off their debt and pay for any upgrades the NFL wants.
- PublicServant - Monday, Jun 1, 26 @ 9:12 pm:
10 billion franchise now. After a move to Indiana, I’ll take the under on them being worth 5 billion.