* Text from Sen. Mark Walker (D-Arlington Heights)…
Kevin Warren called to let me know they’re going to Indiana, (not specifically Hammond)
Warren of course is the President/CEO of the Chicago Bears.
Another top legislative source said Warren told him, “We’re moving forward with the Indiana plan.” When asked what that meant, Warren said, “We’re going to focus on Hammond.”
Comments are reopened.
…Adding… The Bears…
STATEMENT FROM CHICAGO BEARS CHAIRMAN GEORGE H. MCCASKEY AND PRESIDENT & CEO KEVIN WARREN
Yesterday, the Chicago Bears Board of Directors met and voted to advance our stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana, with the exact site to be selected. We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana to the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city. It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.
…Adding… House Speaker Chris Welch…
“In April, the House passed an economic development package that was the product of extensive negotiation with the Bears and other stakeholders. That bipartisan legislation reflected our belief that we can incentivize statewide development and provide property tax relief for working people.
“While Indiana is willing to raise taxes and promise $1 billion in taxpayer funds, Illinois has focused on the needs of working families who want relief at the gas pump, at the store, and on their insurance bills—not taxpayer-funded stadiums.
“Illinois remains open to ongoing efforts to secure the Bears in Illinois. However, it will take time to get it right.”
- Remember the Alamo II - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 10:56 am:
At least we won’t have to hear about these silly subsidy requests anymore.
- Buford - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 10:57 am:
Ok
- Fan of Winning Teams Only - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:00 am:
Okay, bye!
- Hmmmm - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:03 am:
Kevin Warren making a strong case to be the most hated man in Chicago
- Truthiness - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:05 am:
For real, or trying to create leverage for a special session? I won’t believe anything until I see shovels in the ground
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:07 am:
===leverage for a special session===
Yeah, let’s do a special session for a football team entertainment complex when so many other needs are being unmet here.
- Save Ferris - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:08 am:
Funny how Kevin Warren goes to the press for everything, makes sure he’s on camera for post game locker room videos, gets bio fluff articles on himself published, but no press for this.
- Sox Fan - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:12 am:
It might be legit. But I could also see this as the next delay tactic. It buys a couple months until the environmental review shows the land as too toxic.
- The Muse - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:15 am:
Not at all unexpected. Our state really cannot get out of their own way sometimes. Also, is the city of Chicago really going to do a $600 million upgrade to Soldier Field given their current financial situation? Arlington was the best bet to keep this team in state. IF they go to Indiana, it’s a loss for our state.
- Hank from Stickney - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:15 am:
BLUFF
- curtis - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:17 am:
I’ll believe it when I see it. If you’re so inclined to build on a toxic waste pile, go for it.
- Alton Sinkhole - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:19 am:
So we demolished the horse racing track for nothin?
- 4th and Never - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:20 am:
“Focus is Indiana.” Ok. Happy Focusing.
- Nick - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:21 am:
Will be interesting to see how this plays out politically.
It sucks, I could even understand the need for a mega projects bill, but this entire process has been [swear word] and Pritzker can pretty easily say, as one businessman to another, no we’re not selling the farm so rich owners can build a new stadium when they’re still paying for the renovations to soldier field.
- Arsenal - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:22 am:
==Our state really cannot get out of their own way sometimes.==
Sure, but is this one of those times? There are a LOT of people who did not want to see their state and local governments give the McCaskeys the special treatment they were asking for.
- Soccer Fan - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:23 am:
And?
- Recovering Bureaucrat - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:23 am:
Kevin Warren ran this same “play” in Minneapolis, resulting in a public-private deal for that stadium. It wasn’t a great deal for MN and Minneapolis, but he’s running the OPM (other peoples’ money) play again … this is his last desperation move to get IL and Chicago/Arlington Heights to bite … IMHO, enjoy the Hoosier State.
- DuPage Saint - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:25 am:
If Kevin Warren said it it has to be true. Take it to the bank
- Old IL Dude - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:26 am:
Well … bye.
- Rahm's Parking Meter - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:26 am:
Sell Arlington Park then.
- Rahm's Parking Meter - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:29 am:
Wait a minute - THEY DON’T HAVE A SITE?
What happened to Lost Marsh?
- SAP - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:34 am:
==What happened to Lost Marsh?==
Can’t find it.
- Lincoln Lad - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:34 am:
Unions can’t be happy with the Illinois pols who pretty much forced this to happen.
- SAP - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:35 am:
==So we demolished the horse racing track for nothin?==
Not for nothin. Saved the Bears a couple buck in property taxes
- Strategic ambiguity - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:35 am:
The word “advance” in the phrase “voted to advance” has at least several dozen potential meanings.
Also, if Hammond is a 100% done deal, maybe Indiana should scale back their offer.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:36 am:
===Not for nothin===
Correct. And “we” didn’t demolish the track complex. The Bears did.
- Emanuel Collective - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:36 am:
The Hammond site is simply not a location that can support events beyond Bears games. You can forget about concerts, Super Bowls, Final Fours, etc. And the Bears wouldn’t even own this stadium in the end either. Warren all-but had to announce this move lest they lose their only remaining leverage over Illinois; he might’ve played the team into a corner.
- Grandson of Man - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:37 am:
No one should be really surprised, given the owner and team quality history.
They no longer represent Chicago and Illinois and should relinquish the name. But they won’t, they’ll be just like red states, disproportionally benefiting from the money of Democratic areas.
- Amalia - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:37 am:
I hate the subsidies. but losing the team to another state? that may well be thrown about as a failure of leadership. damned if you do, more damned if you don’t.
- Arsenal - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:37 am:
@Rahm’s Parking Meter
I think they have a broad stretch of land ID’d by IN, they just need to narrow it down to “Ok, the staidum will be here, the parking lot will be there…”
- B - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:39 am:
Good riddance. Out of principal I will never attend a game there till I die.
But this is a win for tax payers here. Let Indiana residents get raked over the coals for this. People will still fly into Chicago airports and stay downtown for events and games.
Byeeee
- Old IL Dude - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:40 am:
The Bears Stadium in Illinois is a money loser for taxpayers. It’s a net add for Chicago having it in Indiana — 2% hotel tax revenue to pay off Sox Park renovations expire in 2029, and for Bears reno expire in 2032. Keep the tax revenues for other stuff.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:43 am:
===You can forget about concerts, Super Bowls, Final Fours, etc.===
Facts not in evidence.
Also, (and I know you didn’t specifically say this) if you think Taylor Swift fans won’t go to Hammond, think again.
- Not Joe Kotlarz - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:43 am:
I’d like to blame Quentin Fulks for this but I can’t.
- Sox Fan - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:46 am:
==Also, (and I know you didn’t specifically say this) if you think Taylor Swift fans won’t go to Hammond, think again.==
Very true. They will also get a hotel in downtown chicago
- Billionaire Budster - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:46 am:
Poor JB Pritzker. Can you imagine the ads when he’s waddlingfor President of United States? He’ll be the guy who drove the Chicago Bear’s out of Illinois.
- Arsenal - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:46 am:
==Unions can’t be happy with the Illinois pols who pretty much forced this to happen.==
This was not a priority for organized labor.
- That Guy - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:47 am:
==What happened to Lost Marsh?==
== = Can’t find it. = ==
I chuckled.
- Regular democrat - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:47 am:
Finally they made a decision. I would bet the NFL put some pressure on them to wrap it up. The sun will rise tomorrow and the fans will go to Hammond. Sounds like another site in hammond might be under consideration. Meanwhile congrats to the most inept business family in the history of professional sports. On the bright side this can be a shot in the arm for the long neglected south side.
- Arsenal - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:48 am:
==Poor JB Pritzker. Can you imagine the ads when he’s waddlingfor President of United States? He’ll be the guy who drove the Chicago Bear’s out of Illinois.==
Do you really think primary voters in SC are gonna care about that? Do you really think they wouldn’t be satisfied with “I didn’t want to give another billionaire family another sweetheart deal”?
- James - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:48 am:
Hilarious.
- Three Dimensional Checkers - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:49 am:
A Chicago loss became an Illinois loss I guess. In my limited experience, there has been a dysfunctional relationship between the Bears and the power brokers in Chicago for decades. I guess they could not put aside their differences and focus on the better angels of our nature so to speak.
===I’d like to blame Quentin Fulks for this but I can’t.===
Lol, very good. I needed this laugh.
- Poppa Bears Haghless - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:49 am:
Brandon Johnson proving his incompetence once again. Less than 24 hours after gloating about killing the Springfield deal on the radio because he thought the Bears would stay in Chicago. Well, he doesn’t have to worry about getting stuck in traffic leaving a Bears game anymore because they’re not giving him free tickets or a slush fund anymore.
- Arsenal - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:50 am:
==Poor JB Pritzker. Can you imagine the ads when he’s waddlingfor President of United States? He’ll be the guy who drove the Chicago Bear’s out of Illinois.==
I doubt SC Dem primary voters will care at all, and if they do, they’re probably disinclined to fund these big stadium deals. Hell, IL voters were.
- Proud Papa Bear - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:50 am:
Praise be. Let Indiana pay for our stadium. I could never afford to go to games anyway and with their shrunken stadium, it’ll be even more expensive.
I’m also happy I’ll never have to worry about traffic nightmares when I drive through the northwest suburbs on game days.
I’m not a “I’ll never root for them again” guy but over the past 30 crummy years, I’ve become more of a fan of football in general and less of a Bears fan.
- Happy traveler - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:51 am:
Johnson won’t have to worry about leaving early anymore
- Jrh - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:52 am:
I suspect this is a fiscal positive for the state and city. The city will still capture much of the tourist revenue—people aren’t out clubbing in Gary after the game. NFL stadiums historically have a bad ROI. The Arlington Heights parcel will eventually be developed without tax breaks. Of course it’s been handled in a quite embarrassing and haphazard way by the Bears, the city, and the state.
- ThePAMan - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:53 am:
Does this also count as a “win” for the SDA Mayor of Chicago?
- Emanuel Collective - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:54 am:
=Facts not in evidence=
For what it’s worth, the NFL can and will change its rules whenever they wish, but Miami recently fell out of the Super Bowl rotation because it isn’t sufficiently close to the urban core and it lacks event spaces/amenities close to the stadium. The Final Four tends to track the Super Bowl’s requirements. The proposed Hammond site is in an even worse location than Miami’s stadium.
- Arsenal - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:54 am:
Sorry for the double post.
- Rahm's Parking Meter - Friday, Jun 5, 26 @ 11:54 am:
Mayor Johnson - looking worse than when he left the Packers Bears game for Ingress egress…