Bears, Don’t Let the Locker Room Door Hit You on the Way Out (of Chicago, Illinois..?)

Greedy billionaire team owners betray their long suffering fans (and all the taxpayers)

Do you have civic whiplash from all the back-and-forth with the Chicago Bears?

First, they lobbied for a new domed stadium on the lake front – to be heavily subsidized by Chicago taxpayers PLUS free lakefront land. It seemed like Mayor Johnson was ready to give the Bears what they wanted. But, thank goodness for Governor Prtizker – who said “hold the phone” on all talk of public subsidies. In October of 2025 “Pritzker drew a line at the state being responsible for outright propping up businesses when asked about the Chicago Bears’ hope for $855 million in public funding to support its proposed new Arlington Heights stadium. Pritzker said he was in favor of helping with infrastructure and building roads, not using state funds to build facilities or making a deal that would shield the team from paying property taxes on the new stadium.”

So, the Bear bought the old Arlington Heights racetrack property for a new domed stadium but they want $855 million in new infrastructure spending and a limit on their payment of future property taxes. To my great mystification, the mayor of Arlington Heights and other local leaders are begging the Bears to come and are willing to talk turkey – how much can we give you to settle here?

There was to be a hearing in Springfield last week to consider House Bill 2789 that would give special considerations and huge tax breaks for so-called megaprojects. I sent out 14,000+ emails to my contacts urging folks to protest this bill, to call their legislators and the governor, and to file a witness slip opposing the bill and the entire concept of public stuff for the greedy Bears. The hearing was cancelled. Perhaps, in reaction to what was happening across the state line.

The leaders of Gary, Indiana and other senior leaders there have rushed to create a stadium authority that could issue bonds and dedicate other public resources to building stadiums. Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said “You have to do the practical things to grow again to make a pitch of this audacity and have the ability to make it work and make it happen,” Melton said. “We have the infrastructure, the amenities and the foundation. Gary is the best location, but if the Bears choose to remain in Illinois, that’s on the team. It’s a sound business decision to come here. We’re working with the governor and the Indiana General Assembly. I don’t know how Illinois can beat our offer.” What are they smoking over there?

Meanwhile, the Bears announced a huge bump in season ticket prices, raising them by 13.5%. Remember, the Bears owners, the McCaskey Family, are billionaires and the Bears franchise is valued at $8.8 billion. In 2024 the Bears enjoyed revenues of $629 million. According to Yahoo Sports, in 2023 a family of four attending a Bears game, buying the least expensive seats, spent an average of $713.80!

The Bears are mauling their fans and seek to completely steal from Illinois taxpayers. They are greedy and callous billionaires who will abandon their loyal fans AND stick us with over $620 million of debt from the renovations done on Soldier Field! According to Yahoo Finance, Chicago and Illinois taxpayers have already paid $1 billion in bonds for Soldier Field – including a surcharge on restaurant meals in the Loop to the Near North PLUS a percentage of our hotel taxes. Enough!

Please call your state legislators and Governor Pritzker to demand that we spend not one penny on the Bears. Not one inch of public land. Not one dollar of forgiven taxes. Please sign and share this petition, “No Public Subsidies for Megaprojects!”

Otherwise, Merle and I will threaten to move to Gary, where I am sure the very generous local government will build US a new house and shower us with public monies and tax breaks. We are serious!