Bears Reach Out About Lakefront Return

The Chicago Bears’ stadium search has swung back toward Chicago, at least in private conversations, after state lawmakers and city officials disclosed recent contact about a possible lakefront path. Illinois State Sen. Bill Cunningham said the Bears reached out to Chicago in late April about a hypothetical return to the lakefront if Arlington Heights did not work out. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office has said those conversations evolved into talks about a new lakefront stadium. The Bears, however, said on May 21 that Chicago “is not a viable site” and that only Arlington Heights and Hammond, Indiana, remain under consideration. ### Did the Bears actually reopen talks with Chicago? Bill Cunningham, a Democratic state senator helping lead the Arlington Heights legislation, said the Bears contacted the city in recent weeks about what he understood to be a hypothetical stadium discussion. In an interview reported by NBC Chicago on May 20, Cunningham said the outreach came “as late as four weeks ago” and involved looking back at the lakefront if the Arlington Heights site failed. (nbcchicago.com) Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office has described the contacts more broadly. A city source told the Chicago Sun-Times that there had been multiple meetings with the Bears since April, and that while lease terms at Soldier Field were discussed in one meeting, the talks “since evolved to a new lakefront stadium.” ABC7 also reported that Johnson’s office said recent meetings with Chicago’s Corporation Counsel concerned terms for a new lakefront stadium. (nbcchicago.com) ### Why are the Bears still saying Chicago is off the table? The Bears issued a statement on May 21 saying they had “exhausted every opportunity to stay in Chicago” and that “there is not a viable site in the city.” The team said any meetings with Chicago were limited to counsel-to-counsel discussions and involved no conversations with team management. It added that those exchanges covered a range of matters tied to the club’s tenancy at Soldier Field and produced no substantive changes. (chicago.suntimes.com) A source close to the negotiations gave a similar account to NBC Chicago and the Sun-Times, saying the talks with city lawyers were about lease parameters at Soldier Field rather than a revived lakefront proposal. That account conflicts with Johnson’s office, which has argued the discussions went further. ### How did this affect the Arlington Heights bill in Springfield? (abc7chicago.com) Cunningham said the Bears’ outreach strengthened resistance among Chicago lawmakers to the so-called PILOT or megaprojects bill designed to support an Arlington Heights stadium. He told NBC Chicago that the contact “breathed new life” into Johnson’s opposition and increased resistance among Chicago members. (nbcchicago.com) The Sun-Times reported on May 21 that Johnson’s effort to keep the team in the city had pulled support from the proposal at a critical moment. Lawmakers are also weighing concerns about traffic near the Arlington Heights site and how a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes structure would affect local taxpayers. (nbcchicago.com) ### Where does Gov. JB Pritzker stand? Gov. JB Pritzker has aligned himself with the Arlington Heights option if the alternative is losing the Bears to Indiana. On May 18, Pritzker said Johnson had “no plan” to keep the team in Chicago and called the mayor’s late push problematic after years of debate. Brandon Johnson has kept arguing for a city outcome. (chicago.suntimes.com) In a May 8 interview with WBEZ, Johnson pointed back to the $4.7 billion domed lakefront stadium plan he endorsed in 2024, though he did not say whether he wanted lawmakers to revive that exact proposal. He said he wanted Chicago to have “a real, fair opportunity” to compete for large developments. (abc7chicago.com) ### What are the live options now? Arlington Heights remains the Illinois site tied to pending state legislation, and Hammond remains the out-of-state alternative the Bears have repeatedly cited. The team has said the megaprojects bill must pass for it to keep considering an Illinois move rather than Indiana. (wbez.org) May 31 is the next hard date. Illinois lawmakers are scheduled to adjourn their spring session that day, and Cunningham, Johnson, Pritzker and the Bears are all trying to shape what happens before that deadline. (chicago.suntimes.com)