Bears Stadium Proposal Met with Legislative Thud
A Chicago Bears rendering of a proposed new stadium on the city’s lakefront.
NOTE: This story was originally posted for subscribers only. To receive subscriber-only newsletters and content, click here.
In just a few hours Wednesday, Governor JB Pritzker said he remained “skeptical” of public funding for a new Chicago Bears stadium before the team held its official unveiling to saying he was “highly skeptical” of the plan.
Add piles of doubt heaped on the proposal from legislative leaders and there are serious questions of if the Bears have any legitimate shot at securing public financing for a new lakefront stadium.
Pritzker spoke Wednesday at the same time the Bears were unveiling their stadium proposal and took an more doubtful tone than he had even a few hours before.
“I’m highly skeptical of the proposal that has been made and I believe strongly that this is not a high priority for legislators, and certainly not for me when I compare it to all the other things [we’re doing],” Pritzker said at an unrelated news conference. “The taxpayers dollars need to be protected. I think it’s my job to be a good steward of those dollars.”
House Speaker Chris Welch said he told Chicago Bears President Kevin Warren last week that if he put a stadium proposal up for a vote in the House, it would “ fail and it would fail miserably.”
Sources indicated Tuesday the Bears want to get the proposal through the legislature before the scheduled adjournment date of May 24.
Welch was not sold.
“There’s no environment for something like this today,” Welch said. “Now, in Springfield, environments change. Will that environment change in the next 30 days? I think that’s highly unlikely.”
Here’s our interaction with Welch:
Senate President Don Harmon echoed those concerns in a statement Wednesday afternoon.
“At first glance, more than $2 billion in private funding is better than zero and a more credible opening offer,” Harmon said. “But there’s an obvious, substantial gap remaining, and I echo the governor’s skepticism.”
Asked about the skeptics, Bears President Kevin Warren urged caution.
“Today was the first day we could roll out our plan, so it’s very difficult for someone to say they’re against this [when] we just presented it,” Warren said. “We look forward to having more conversations with the individuals in Springfield, Governor Pritzker and Speaker Welch, but we’ll continue proceeding forward.”
There’s a question now of who or what can get the General Assembly on board. Supporters say organized labor, which is heavily invested in Democratic politics, would be “chomping at the bit” to support billions of construction projects in the city, but so far, they haven’t said anything publicly.
That said, 30 days is a long time in Springfield, which Pritzker even acknowledged.
We asked the Governor if there was a way for the Bears to get him on board with a stadium project.
“Sure,” Pritzker said. “But this has got to be a lot better for taxpayers than what they’ve put forward.”