CHICAGO — While Mayor Brandon Johnson continues to contend the best future home for the Chicago Bears is their current one, fellow Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker isn't having it.
"We're three years in now and he still has no plan," Pritzker said Monday while speaking to reporters. "The Bears have said publicly, and I believe they said last Friday again, that they now only have two options and that's the state of Indiana or Arlington Heights."
According to a report from ESPN, team owners are expected to get a special briefing Tuesday on the state of the Arlington Heights and Hammond, Indiana stadium projects at the NFL Owners Meeting in Orlando.
The Bears bought the former Arlington International Racecourse property for $197.2 million in 2023. The team demolished the racetrack with plans to build a new $5 billion domed stadium on the land.
"And quite frankly, looking at the infrastructure that they're even discussing in the suburbs, those infrastructure needs have been present on the lakefront for a very long time. It's the top tourist destination anywhere in the state of Illinois," Johnson said of the team staying in Chicago earlier this month.
In April 2024, Johnson and the Bears announced plans for a stadium project near the current home of the team at Soldier Field, along Chicago's lakefront on the Museum Campus.
At the time, the price tag on the publicly owned, domed stadium was reportedly $3.2 billion, with the entire project slated to cost around $4.6 billion.
The Bears were said to be considering privately investing more than $2 billion in the project, which, according to team officials, would cover more than 70 percent of the costs to construct the stadium.
Later that year as talks stalled on the lakefront idea, the site of the former Michael Reese Hospital in the Bronzeville neighborhood was brought into the discussion.
In April, ESPN reported league sources as viewing the two Chicago options as not feasible. Johnson pushed back, to which Johnson pushed back.
"Well, I mean, the best thing to do for Soldier Field is to make sure the Bears are playing there," Johnson said on May 5 at City Hall when asked about the future of the NFL's oldest stadium. "Look, I still firmly believe that the best place for the Bears to play is in the city of Chicago."
RELATED: Bears Stadium Decision Nears End Zone, Chicago Sites Not 'Feasible' — ESPN
Last month, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signed off on Senate Bill 27, which passed that state's senate after being advanced by the Indiana House of Representatives. The bill is intended for the state to commit up to $1 billion to help finance a proposed stadium project in Hammond.
In response, an amended bill was passed by the Illinois House on April 22. HB910, which allows for any megaproject involving an investment of $500 million or more to negotiate a freeze on its property tax assessment, is being weighed by the Senate in Springfield.
The current Illinois legislative session is set to conclude on May 31, with many saying if the bill isn't passed by then, lawmakers east will gain the upperhand.
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