Brian Urlacher says Bears belong at Soldier Field, tries to tie potential departure to immigration

Brian Urlacher doesn’t like the idea of the Bears leaving Soldier Field, whether they end up in Hammond, Indiana, or Arlington Heights.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s Indiana or somewhere in Illinois — I can’t picture them leaving Soldier Field,” the Pro Football Hall of Famer told Fox News last week.

He managed to criticize the state’s immigration policy along the way. He even tried to connect Illinois lawmakers’ inability to reach a property tax funding deal with the Bears to money the state spends as part of its immigration policies.

“You look at all the money they’ve given to illegal immigrants and the money they’ve set aside for that, it’s like $2.5, $3 billion that they’ve spent on the illegal immigrants,” Urlacher claimed. “That money could be for the Bears, could be trying to keep them, not for the Bears, but trying to keep their stadium in town, instead of keeping people that aren’t supposed to be in our country here.”

Urlacher blamed Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois legislators, saying that “you do what you have to do to keep the Bears there.” Earlier this month, the Bears said they planned to press forward with a proposed site in Hammond, Indiana, though they vowed to continue talking to Illinois politicians. Pritzker has said he’d be willing to call a special session if politicians can find momentum on a property tax deal for the Bears. Otherwise, the legislature won’t meet in Springfield until November.

The former linebacker acknowledged that Soldier Field was “already off the table” this year, pointing to Arlington Heights as a valid option. The Bears have said that the 326-acre former Arlington International Racecourse site they own is the only choice they’re considering. inside Cook County.

“They have the land bought already,” Urlacher said. “Find a way to keep them there, and they have — they just don’t care.”