JB Pritzker has drawn a hardline stance on the Chicago Bears’ pursuit of a new stadium since the process began in 2022. He made it crystal clear that no taxpayer money would be spent to help fund the project. If the Bears wanted to do it, they’d need to find the money elsewhere. For the most part, the Bears attempted to do that. They agreed to fund the stadium itself entirely on their own, with help from the NFL. However, they still needed help with property taxes and infrastructure. Both could be acquired without the green light from Governor Pritzker and his state government.
Not only did they refuse, but they went so far as to tell the Bears not even to bring it up next year either. That decision brought immediate consequences as team president Kevin Warren announced the organization is reopening their search for a new location, and this time they included northwest Indiana. No Chicago sports team has left the state of Illinois in 75 years. People refuse to believe the Bears would do something so drastic. The Illinois Review provided tangible data that suggests otherwise.
In 2025 rankings, Indiana consistently outperforms Illinois as a place to do business. CNBC ranks Indiana #9 among Top States for Business, compared to Illinois at #13.
The ALEC-Laffer Rich States, Poor States economic outlook places Indiana at #3 nationwide – while Illinois languishes at #46.
The Tax Foundation ranks Indiana #10 for state tax competitiveness; Illinois falls to #37.
The tax gap is even more telling. Indiana’s corporate income tax stands at 4.9 percent. Illinois’ corporate rate is 9.5 percent – second highest in the nation once the replacement tax is included.
Indiana’s property taxes average around 0.77 percent and are capped by law. Illinois property taxes are among the highest in the country, especially for commercial projects.
Indiana also offers lower workers’ compensation costs, cheaper unemployment insurance, and lower unit labor costs.
That reality explains why Indiana continues to attract investment – and why Illinois continues to lose it.
JB Pritzker is losing steam in the court of public opinion.
Even former governors are calling him out for screwing this situation up. Rod Blagojevich held the seat from 2003 to 2009, during the Bears’ last period of success. He called Pritzker out on Twitter (X) for being too stubborn and not recognizing what the franchise means to the people of Illinois.
Naturally, Blagojevich is a shady character to take seriously since he spent eight years in federal prison for corruption charges before he was pardoned in 2020. Still, the man understands Illinois politics at a fundamental level, and he knows what the Bears mean to the people.
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Jerking them around won’t win as many political points for JB Pritzker as he may think. Winning in the court of public opinion can shift on a dime. It feels like the Bears seized the narrative with their latest announcement, claiming, with not insignificant evidence, that they’ve exhausted every possible option to get a deal done. Pritzker has refused to budge. Unlike previous times, the Bears seem ready and willing to deploy the nuclear option of leaving the state entirely.
For a man who seems determined to run for president in the near future, it probably won’t look good that “forced the Bears to leave Chicago for the first time in over a century” is among his career accomplishments.
