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CBS News Chicago Live
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday that he is "evaluating" a bill in Springfield that would benefit the Chicago Bears' move to northwest suburban Arlington Heights.
But Pritzker did not sound too keen on the idea.
"I do not think that the taxpayers of Illinois should be propping up what now is an $8.5 billion valued business," Pritzker said. "They seem to be doing OK for themselves."
Last week, Bears president and chief executive officer Kevin Warren said the organization is "extremely focused" on constructing the new stadium for the team in Arlington Heights. Previously, Warren had floated a plan to build a stadium in Chicago close to the Bears' current home stadium of Soldier Field.
"That is our plan," Warren was quoted Friday at Halas Hall. "We strongly believe that is the only location in Cook County that will allow us to build a new Chicago Bears stadium with a fixed roof."
Warren also told reporters he is hoping state lawmakers pass a tax relief bill in the fall veto session. He said the money would be used for infrastructure improvements around the stadium, not the stadium itself.
Warren said if the bill passes in October, the Bears plan to "move dirt" in Arlington Heights within the current year.
The Bears made a bid to buy the old 326-acre Arlington International Racecourse in 2021.
While they closed that $197 million deal in 2023, and later demolished the racetrack's grandstand and other buildings, plans to build a stadium there were delayed amid a dispute over property taxes.
The Bears later pivoted to plans for a domed stadium on the Chicago lakefront, unveiling a $4.7 billion proposal that would have relied on $2.4 billion in public funding. Gov. Pritzker called that plan a "nonstarter," and said public funding for a Bears stadium would not be a good deal for taxpayers.
The Bears' focus has since returned to Arlington Heights.
Adam Harrington
Adam Harrington is a web producer at CBS Chicago, where he first arrived in January 2006.