After the Illinois spring legislative session concluded without a stadium deal for the Chicago Bears, three mayors expressed varying responses to the outcome. This development is significant as it impacts the Bears' plans to secure a new venue and could influence the team's future in the state.
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What A Day Video 1 Video Player is loading. Play Video Mayors wait to see what's next after Illinois lawmakers end spring legislative session without Bears stadium deal Play Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded: 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off, selected Captions captions settings, opens captions settings dialog captions off, selected Audio Track Fullscreen Share This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color Opacity Text Background Color Opacity Caption Area Background Color Opacity Font Size Text Edge Style Font Family Reset Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Puerto Rican bakery among several businesses targeted in smash-and-grabs on Far Southwest Side Mayors have different reactions after Illinois spring legislative session ends without a Bears stadium deal 'Dropped the ball': Arlington Heights mayor expresses frustration with state lawmakers over Bears ATC University: How a local college is preparing future air traffic controllers ‘This hurts bad’: Spencer Leak Jr.’s son, brother honor his life and legacy 'Never seen anything like this': Deadly shooting in Bellwood leaves neighbors in shock 1 More Question: Who's to blame for Bears stadium mess? Where do the Chicago Bears go now? Local mayors, fans weigh in Illinois spring legislative session ends with no final vote on Bears stadium bill, so what's next? MedWatch Daily Digest: Birthing pressure, progress on a Melanoma vaccine, Deet and mosquito bites NOW PLAYING Politics Mayors have different reactions after Illinois spring legislative session ends without a Bears stadium deal by: Michael Johnson, Erik Runge Posted: Jun 2, 2026 / 07:20 AM CDT Updated: Jun 2, 2026 / 12:06 PM CDT by: Michael Johnson, Erik Runge Posted: Jun 2, 2026 / 07:20 AM CDT Updated: Jun 2, 2026 / 12:06 PM CDT SHARE (WGN) — Three mayors had three different reactions after the Illinois spring legislative session ended early Monday morning without a bill passed to help keep the Chicago Bears in the state when they build a new stadium. In northwest suburban Arlington Heights, where the Bears own the 326-acre Arlington Park property that would presumably be the preferred location for the team if it stays in Illinois, Mayor Jim Tinaglia during a Village Board meeting Monday night expressed his disappointment in the state legislature for failing to pass any stadium bill before ending the spring session. PREVIOUS: Illinois spring legislative session ends with no final vote on Bears stadium bill But while disappointed, Tinaglia said he doesn’t think a potential deal for the Bears to move to Arlington Heights is dead just yet. “Unfortunately, I believe the ball was dropped,” Tinaglia said, using a football metaphor. “I don’t mean to be rude, I don’t mean to point fingers at anyone in particular, I know a lot of folks tried really hard, but it just didn’t happen yet. “And I say the word ‘yet,’ because I don’t think the game is over.” Meanwhile, just over the state line in Hammond, Indiana, where state lawmakers have already passed a bill that provides the framework for the Bears to move to a site near Wolf Lake, Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. is feeling better about a Bears’ move there. At the moment, the only deal on the table for the Bears is the one offered by Indiana. “The only thing that really, in my opinion, kept the Bears in Illinois was the nostalgia factor,” McDermott said. “And I think after three-and-a-half years of working with the Illinois legislature with no outcome, I think the nostalgia factor is wearing thin with the Bears. “And I think that they’re ready to make a move, and I hope that they’re ready to make a move to Hammond, Indiana.” Video 2 Video Player is loading. Play Video Mayors have different reactions after Illinois spring legislative session ends without a Bears stadium deal Play Skip Backward Skip Forward Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration 0:00 Loaded: 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE 1x Playback Rate Chapters Chapters Descriptions descriptions off, selected Captions captions settings, opens captions settings dialog captions off, selected Audio Track Fullscreen Share This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color Opacity Text Background Color Opacity Caption Area Background Color Opacity Font Size Text Edge Style Font Family Reset Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement NOW PLAYING And in Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson has not let go of his hopes to broker a deal that keeps the Bears in the city. The reactions come after Illinois lawmakers could not reach a deal to keep the Bears in the state, despite a last-ditch attempt that spilled over past the May 31 deadline for the end of the spring legislative session and into the early hours of Monday morning. A megaprojects bill already passed by the Illinois House, which would’ve provided property tax relief for the Bears and other developers of major projects in the form of a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes), did not have enough support to pass the Illinois Senate. The Senate then crafted a bill in response,HB 958, that would let cities in Cook County with a population over 70,000 — which includes Chicago, Arlington Heights and other cities — create their own stadium authority to help build and finance stadiums. Under this arrangement, the Bears would finance the stadium, but the city would own it and lease it to the Bears. Since the stadium would be government-owned, the Bears would pay no property taxes. Giving cities the ability to set up a stadium authority is similar to the bill Indiana lawmakers already passed in their efforts to get the Bears to move across the state line to Hammond. The Illinois Senate passed that bill by a 37-17 vote, but it was after 3 a.m. Monday by the time it went to the House for a vote. No further action was taken by the House at that late hour, and the spring legislative session was adjourned without a final vote. Both chambers need to pass a bill before it’s sent to the desk of Gov. JB Pritzker to be signed into law. “It’s a disappointment,” Tinaglia said. “It’s a disappointment that a legislative session can go for weeks and weeks and weeks, and nothing happens until almost midnight of the last day.” The Bears have said for a while now that they’ll make a decision sometime in late spring or early summer, and they’re down to choosing between Arlington Heights and Hammond. They reiterated that in a statement Monday morning after the Illinois spring legislative session ended without a deal on the table. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines But as long as no decision has been made, Johnson and Chicago lawmakers continue to insist the best choice for the Bears is to remain in the city along the lakefront. Johnson and Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren presented a proposal for a domed lakefront stadium just south of Soldier Field back in April 2024, but the public funding asked for in that proposal was not supported by Pritzker and state lawmakers. Still, despite what they’ve said about narrowing their options down to Arlington Heights and Hammond, the Bears themselves have expressed interest recently inrevisiting the idea of a lakefront stadium, according to reports. The mayor still thinks Chicago has a shot. “I am still ready to have conversations with all of our stakeholders to keep the Bears right here in Chicago,” Johnson said. “Again, the only viable plan for a publicly-owned stadium was the one that I presented.” Now, unless a special session is called in Springfield, there will be no vote on a Bears stadium bill by state lawmakers anytime soon. Add as preferred source on Google Suggest a Correction Suggest a Correction Your name(required) Your email(required) Report a typo or grammatical error(required) Submit Correction Δ Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. 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Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears: The Chicago Bears are a professional football team that is seeking to build a new stadium in Illinois.
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