Hall of Fame quarterback Steven Young had a terrific saying. When asked about leadership, it took him a long time to realize one fundamental truth. Perception is reality. If you’re perceived to be someone, you might as well be that because it’s the truth in people’s minds. This lesson can be equally applied to the arena of political negotiations. The entire bedrock is built around winning the favor of voters. More people on your side inevitably force the other side to cave. That is the battle the Chicago Bears have waged for the better part of four years.
They want a new stadium. Soldier Field is outdated and does not allow them to maximize the fan experience, which, in turn, maximizes their revenue potential. Governor J.B. Pritzker and his Democratic government in Illinois have resisted such efforts, maintaining their stance that no taxpayer money will be used to help billionaires fund a “vanity project.” That stance has worked up to a point, but it might be backfiring as the Bears follow through on a threat to move to Indiana. Public perception is turning against them, and there is no greater evidence than a scathing rebuke from the Chicago Tribune.
The Chicago Bears seem to have the moral high ground now.
All that said, the inability of Illinois’ political leaders to get their act together so as to put an alternative on the table in the face of Indiana’s aggressive move to poach the Bears is a stinging indictment of this state’s politicians. All of the key players in this drama were Democrats and so were incentivized to grab the political credit for keeping a founding franchise in by far the biggest sports league in America in the state where it was born.
Given our state’s one-party rule, they now shoulder the blame for losing the Chicago Bears — yes, the team will continue to be called the Chicago Bears, even as it plays its future home games in Indiana…
…Pritzker, who’s running for a third term as governor and harbors presidential aspirations, likes to claim substantial economic development wins during his eight years in Springfield. And he indeed has some of which to boast.
Among ordinary folks, however, relatively few are even cognizant of the quantum technology site on the South Side or the Rivian electric vehicle factory in Normal. But the Bears? Yeah, football fans are legion throughout Illinois, as they are in most other parts of the country. The failure to put together a package to keep the Bears in Illinois is something everyone can understand.
Sometimes perception is reality. And the message sent by the sad display in Springfield this past spring is that this state’s political class can’t hammer out a deal even when they’ve all maintained they want to do so.”
Nobody can say the Bears played dirty.
They offered Illinois a pretty sweet deal, at least when compared to other stadium situations around the NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills pried massive amounts of public money to help fund the construction at their new locations. The Bears offered to pay for that entirely themselves. What they needed was help on the brutal property tax laws in Cook County and help to improve the surrounding infrastructure. While still expensive, it is nowhere close to what other areas of the country are paying.
This is not to absolve team president Kevin Warren and the McCaskeys. Some of their decisions throughout this process have been baffling and downright counterintuitive. Still, what was mentioned above holds true. If Illinois had put any effort into offering a legitimate alternative that all sides would’ve been happy with, it never would’ve gone this far.
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| Stadium Name | Primary Team | Opening Year | Total Cost | Public Money Contributed | Main Public Funding Source | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EverBank Stadium | Jacksonville Jaguars | 2028 (Projected) | $1.45 billion | $775 million | City bonds & capital infrastructure funds | Under Construction |
| New Nissan Stadium | Tennessee Titans | 2027 (Projected) | $2.1–$2.2 billion | $1.26 billion | State bonds ($500M) & Metro Nashville bonds ($760M) | Under Construction |
| New Highmark Stadium | Buffalo Bills | 2026 (Projected) | $2.2 billion | $850 million | New York State ($600M) & Erie County ($250M) | Under Construction |
| SoFi Stadium | LA Rams / Chargers | 2020 | $5.5 billion | $0 | Fully privately funded by team ownership | Completed |
| Allegiant Stadium | Las Vegas Raiders | 2020 | $1.9 billion | $750 million | Clark County hotel room tax | Completed |
| Mercedes-Benz Stadium | Atlanta Falcons | 2017 | $1.6 billion | $200 million | Atlanta hotel-motel tax | Completed |
| Levi’s Stadium | San Francisco 49ers | 2014 | $1.3 billion | $114 million | Santa Clara redevelopment agency & bonds | Completed |
| AT&T Stadium | Dallas Cowboys | 2009 | $1.2 billion | $325 million | Arlington sales, hotel, & car rental taxes | Completed |
Illinois politicians are playing a dangerous game.
Yes, they’re trying to look out for the taxpayers. That is noble. However, the taxpayers love the Chicago Bears and seeing their beloved team leave for another state would be a tragedy in the eyes of many. Older New York Jets fans have said many times that it has never been the same since the team left Queens for the Meadowlands in New Jersey. The Bears have played in Chicago since 1920. It is their home. Yet this government couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it.
They sat on their hands for most of the past three years. It took the team threatening to leave for Indiana just to get it to do anything. For all the boasts Pritzker likes to make, his read of this situation could cost him and his allies in Springfield in the next elections. That isn’t great for somebody with presidential aspirations. Critics will immediately use this Bears saga as ammunition against him in the future. If he can’t manage to keep a beloved franchise like it in the state, why should we believe he can run this country?
