Gov. JB Pritzker said Tuesday he’s not feeling pressure in the pocket as Indiana rushes to sack the Bears’ future in Illinois, but he’s ready to call an audible if the General Assembly can reach a stadium deal before lawmakers are scheduled to return to Springfield this fall.
In his first public appearance since the Bears announced their latest fruitless session in the Illinois Capitol has them focused on greener pastures in Hammond, Pritzker downplayed the team’s latest public posturing, criticized their political “fumbles” over the past few years — and held out hope that they’ll stay in their home state.
“They haven’t decided even on a location in Indiana,” the Democratic governor said at a South Side news conference. “And the one principal location they’ve been focused on is one that has a lot of toxic waste and other things that they’ve got to remediate, so none of that is going to happen quickly.
“And I’m not suggesting that we want to wait. I’m just saying they’ve got to figure out how they can get the legislature, both sides, around the same bill, and I would be happy to call a special session,” Pritzker said. “By the way, so too can the leaders of the legislature call a special session.”
That’s what would have to happen to move a bill before lawmakers report for their fall veto session Nov. 17. Meanwhile the Bears are mulling the deal offered up four months ago by Hoosier lawmakers, who authorized a slew of new taxes to potentially build a dome near the Lost Marsh Golf Course in Hammond.
Pritzker had pushed for “megaprojects” legislation, which would allow companies making investing in large developments to negotiate discounted payments in lieu of their fully assessed property taxes.
A bill centered on that concept cleared the Illinois House in April, but fell apart a day before the May 31 conclusion of lawmakers’ spring session. The legislative equivalent of a Hail Mary that would’ve allowed larger Cook County municipalities like Chicago and Arlington Heights to negotiate their own stadium deals passed the Illinois Senate, but didn’t get a House vote.
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, and state Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, have said Bears conversations will continue over the summer, but neither has called for a special session.
Pritzker said his office has already gotten calls from the Bears to resume talks along with legislators who need to “understand what we’re losing out on if the Bears aren’t in Illinois.”
“But I also want to remind you once again: in Indiana, they’re going to have to raise sales taxes. They’re raising tolls,” Pritzker said. “The question is, do people in Illinois want their sales taxes raised to pay for the Chicago Bears? Do they want tolls raised to pay for the Chicago Bears? I don’t think they do. We put a package together that would allow us to keep the Bears without having to do that. And again, there were some people who, either through confusion or direct malice against the bill, killed it,” Pritzker said, still reserving plenty of blame for the team.
“From the beginning, of course, there were some fumbles that occurred by the Bears, beginning with a press conference with the mayor of Chicago [in 2024] talking about a multibillion-dollar stadium that they wanted to have built with taxpayer dollars. That’s not something I was ever willing to do,” Pritzker said.
“Then there was a lot of talk — what location do they want to be in? Do they want to be in Chicago? Do they want to be in Arlington Heights? They want to be in Hammond? And then, of course, they didn’t show up for the end of session,” Pritzker said. “You got to work the hallways, as you know, in a very, very busy session. You’ve got to really talk to every legislator.”
The governor brushed aside criticism from many Springfield insiders who have complained that Pritzker’s efforts to sway stadium negotiations were too little, too late in the Capitol.
“I love the Chicago Bears. I want them to be in Illinois, and I have worked very hard to try to keep them in Illinois. I think that they’ve got to make sure that they know what it is that they want and stick to the message,” Pritzker said. “Apparently there was some discussion with the City of Chicago after they told everybody that they wanted to be in Arlington Heights. And you can imagine for Chicago legislators, and for everybody considering the bill that was put forward, it’s confusing. Which one do you want?”
It all leaves the ball in the team’s possession, according to Pritzker.
“All of that has to be worked out by the Bears: decide what they want, make sure that we know it, and then we’re going to work diligently to see if we can’t get something done that will work for them.”