When we last checked in on the Chicago Bears stadium drama, the Illinois state budget had passed, but no public funds had been granted for the proposed domed lakefront stadium project. According to Christopher Placek of the Daily Herald, the Bears were looking for taxpayer money to help build their new home, and the Illinois General Assembly’s shutout has Aurora Mayor RichardIrvin floating his city as an option once more.
“I think it’s best for the state of Illinois,” Irvin told the Daily Herald regarding the Bears’ Aurora headquarters. “And I understand how politics work. Most politicians will vote based on their interests in their specific district. But I believe we would make the case and sell that this is what is best for the entire state of Illinois, not just Chicago.”
Irvin has had initial negotiations with Bears Tean President Kevin Warren, and while Warren has stated that he prefers to stay on the lakefront, he will also make the best offer for his club.
“I’m going to let him know that Aurora’s in the house,” Irvin said of his upcoming encounter with Warren. “He and I have talked several times. I told him, “Look, I understand you want to stay in Chicago, but if it does not work out, and it may be that these hurdles are entirely too high, Aurora is here waiting and willing to welcome the Bears back to the City of Lights.”
Aurora is located about 45 minutes west of Chicago and is the state’s second-largest city, with about 177,000 residents.
According to the Daily Herald, a Bears spokeswoman stated that the Museum Campus location remains their top priority, but Cook County taxes may be too high to overcome.
Arlington Heights, also in Cook County, has its own tax concerns, but Mayor Irvin believes there will be none in his city, which is located in DuPage, Kane, Kendall, and Will counties.
“Here in Aurora, we recognize the mistakes that were made by Cook County and trying to overly assess the Bears with an overly abundant tax liability,” Irvin told the Herald. “We would not do that same thing here.”
He stated that he has two potential properties ready to pitch to the Bears, and while neither is larger than Arlington Heights, they are larger than the Museum Campus site.
“Me, as a mayor and working with our other taxing bodies, I would personally walk this through the processes to get the approvals to make sure that we can get the job done and not have any question of whether or not the Bears will be able to build a stadium in the city of Aurora.”
Warren spoke earlier today at the Lincoln Forum at the Union League Club of Chicago, when he repeated their preference for building on the lakefront. He hopes building may begin next year, with the first Bears kickoff scheduled for 2028.
“We live in a complicated world,” Warren stated in an article published by Patrick Finley in the Chicago Sun Times. “It is an election year. We have people that are going hungry. We have folks sleeping on the streets. We are dealing with several complex issues. I’m a realist, so I recognize that these undertakings aren’t something you do over the weekend.”
This fall, Illinois lawmakers will reassemble for their veto session, giving the Bears another chance to secure public funding.
Arlington Heights believes they are still in the running, Chicago clearly wants the Bears to stay, and Aurora hopes to make it a three-team race.
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