The Chicago Bears should’ve started constructing their new stadium by now. Northwestern has. The Chicago Fire have. Yet why has the most prominent sports franchise in the city taken this long to do anything? Much of that has been their inability to make headway in Springfield on legislation to address infrastructure and property tax costs. While many blame the fractious Illinois government for that, the harsh reality is that much of the blame falls at the feet of team president Kevin Warren.
Almost from the moment he arrived, it was clear the man had no vision on how to approach this issue. He pivoted away from Arlington Heights almost immediately, got stonewalled, pivoted back to Arlington, couldn’t find any backing for his cause, and then shifted to Indiana. This finally got some dialogue with Springfield, but even then, he kept stepping on toes with his utter inability to keep his mouth shut. He’s made a lot of enemies in the government with his underhanded tactics, and it’s gotten to the point where he has no choice but to take the team to Indiana.
There are only two possible ways this change. Either Illinois caves to the pressure suddenly, or the Bears have to dump Warren.
Firing Warren at this point is difficult for the Chicago Bears.
That means finding a replacement, and doing so threatens to upend any progress they’ve made in stadium talks, little though it may be. The new president would have to get up to speed before deciding on what approach he wants to take. That would take more time and cost more money. Only one thing might make it work. It would have to be somebody familiar with the process who could step in and take control. The funny part is that the Bears probably have the perfect candidate who’s been sitting under their noses the whole time.
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Kam Buckner is a Chicago native who played football at the University of Illinois. He entered the political arena after graduating, climbed the ranks, and became instrumental in helping the Chicago Cubs renovate Wrigley Field in 2015. This success led to his election to the Illinois House of Representatives, where he eventually became majority leader. Over the past few years, he has directly assisted the Bears in their efforts to pass legislation to help fund a new stadium.
Buckner is everything the Bears need.
He has previous experience negotiating stadium economics. He was born and raised in the city, so he can communicate well with its leaders. He played football in his younger days and, more importantly, has the necessary political connections and experience to handle the complicated situation in Springfield. Buckner knows which palms to scratch and which doors to knock on. There is no question he would run a far tighter ship than Warren ever could, and he’s still only 41 years old.
The obvious question is, would he be interested? Well, the average salary of an Illinois House member is at most $128,000. Warren’s annual earnings are currently reported to be $13 million. The money alone would be worth making the jump. It comes down to whether Buckner has greater ambitions. He did run for Mayor of Chicago in the most recent election, but came up short. It’s possible he still has that in his sights. Then again, his career exploits have hovered around sports for a long time. Taking over as President of the Chicago Bears would be quite an accomplishment, especially if he can get the stadium situation back on track.
