Bears CEO Talks New Stadium Taxes At Lake Forest Event: Report

LAKE FOREST, IL — The Chicago Bears are continuing due diligence on a potential stadium project in northwest Indiana, but the team is not ruling out Arlington Heights, President and CEO Kevin Warren said Thursday night in Lake Forest.

According to a report from the Daily Herald, Warren spoke at an interview at the Gorton Center with local author David Sweet. The appearance came after Warren and the Bears' board of directors voted June 4 to advance a stadium development project in Hammond. That vote came days after the Illinois legislature did not move forward with legislation tied to a stadium in Arlington Heights.

Warren, a Lake Forest resident, was asked what would drive the decision on whether the Bears ultimately land in Arlington Heights or Hammond. His answer centered on financial predictability and public infrastructure support.

“I think we’ve been very clear: I mean, always, you have to have property tax certainty. The numbers are too big if you don’t have it, and it’s too uncertain,” Warren told interviewer David Sweet. “You have to have a commitment from an infrastructure dollar standpoint. You have to have a really good partner because, regardless of where you build, there are always going to be complications. Things happen.”

The remarks offered Warren's first public comments since the June 4 board vote on the Hammond project.

Read more from the Daily Herald: At Lake Forest event, stadium property taxes and World Cup on Bears president’s mind