SPRINGFIELD \u2014 A key Illinois lawmaker spearheading negotiations on legislation to keep the Chicago Bears playing their home games in Illinois said Wednesday night he\u2019s facing fresh opposition from some legislative colleagues who believe the team has expressed newfound openness to building a new Bears stadium in Chicago.<\/p>\n
Democratic state Sen. Bill Cunningham of Chicago said in an interview that he and some legislative colleagues learned a few weeks ago that the Bears had expressed a willingness to revisit a lakefront stadium with Mayor Brandon Johnson\u2019s office, before the mayor\u2019s team told Chicago-based lawmakers about that conversation.<\/p>\n
The Bears on Wednesday night pushed back on the idea, saying in a prepared statement that the team has reiterated since September that the only site in Cook County the team has been considering for its new home is in Arlington Heights, while the team is also considering a stadium proposal pitched by leaders in Indiana for a site in Hammond.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team has been clear with the city of Chicago and state leaders there are only two viable stadium locations under consideration, Arlington Heights and Hammond, and a decision is expected between the two later this spring or early summer,\u201d the team said in the statement.<\/p>\n
A representative from Johnson\u2019s office did not return requests for comment.<\/p>\n
Still, Cunningham said talk of resurrecting a Chicago stadium has created a roadblock in ongoing discussions among lawmakers trying to meet a May 31 deadline to hammer out a deal before the end of the spring legislative session that could compel the Bears to move to Arlington Heights. Cunningham said the Chicago stadium idea has become a catalyst for lawmakers \u2014 many from Chicago \u2014 who have expressed \u201csubstantial opposition\u201d to the current negotiations over helping the team move to a suburb.<\/p>\n
This sticking point in negotiations comes a few weeks after Johnson and others in the city administration visited Springfield<\/a> and discussed with lawmakers the mayor\u2019s desire to keep the Bears in Chicago.<\/p>\n \u201cBut by virtue of the fact that the Bears did outreach to the city as (of) late April, that has given credence to the mayor\u2019s claim that a lakefront site is still viable,\u201d Cunningham said. \u201cThat has helped him to convince Chicago legislators to move slowly, to give the city a chance to better develop a new lakefront plan and to not support the Arlington Heights site.\u201d<\/p>\n Before the Bears released their statement Wednesday night, Cunningham predicted the team \u201cwill still say this is a binary choice. And they will say that there is no Chicago plan, and there isn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThey happen to be right about that,\u201d Cunningham said. \u201cThere is no concrete plan from the city on the table right now. But by virtue of the fact that the Bears reached out to the city in recent weeks to talk about the lakefront, they have breathed life into the mayor\u2019s efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n The developments also come as Gov. JB Pritzker and Johnson have been bickering over the stadium deal, a mini-feud that was reignighted with Johnson\u2019s comments during his Springfield visit as Pritzker has said there is no real plan for a new football stadium in Chicago. Just Wednesday, Pritzker said<\/a> he had recently spoken with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and maintained that the Bears and NFL are only considering a new stadium in Arlington Heights or Indiana \u2014 not Chicago.<\/p>\n The deal being hashed out in the state capitol largely centers on how much the Bears would pay in property taxes to build the stadium complex on the former Arlington International Racecourse site. The Bears purchased the site in early 2023. Earlier this year, the team began publicly saying it was also considering the site in Hammond after Hoosier lawmakers and the governor of Indiana passed legislation to build a stadium there.<\/p>\n In the ongoing Illinois legislative efforts, the Bears are seeking some $855 million in infrastructure funding, as well as certainty over how much the team would have to pay in property taxes for the next 40 years for building on the Arlington Heights site. Lawmakers are trying to balance those concerns as the public has pushed back about giving away benefits to a multibillion-dollar sports franchise.<\/p>\n