Illinois
Pritzker blasts Johnson’s push to keep Bears in Chicago: ‘The mayor has no plan’
CHICAGO (WLS) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker had some harsh words for Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Monday, exposing the deep divide between the two leaders over the future of the Chicago Bears.
It comes as the legislature heads into the final two weeks of the session with still no deal on a bill to enable the team to move to Arlington Heights.
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Pritzker favors helping the Bears move to Arlington Heights rather than losing them to Hammond, Indiana. But Johnson insists that the best thing for the Bears is to stay in Chicago. In his strongest words yet, the governor dismissed that notion.
“He has no plan. There’s no plan,” Pritzker said.
While speaking to reporters on Monday, Pritzker called Johnson out for continuing to push for the Bears to stay at Soldier Field despite the team repeatedly making it clear that if they are going to stay in Illinois, it will be in Arlington Heights at the former racetrack property the team owns. If it is not there, they will pursue the offer from Indiana to build a stadium in Hammond.
As lawmakers consider a so-called megaprojects bill that would give the Bears a property tax break on a new stadium in Arlington Heights, the governor was frustrated by Johnson’s Chicago push.
“I know that the mayor has no plan. He has come up with no plan at all about how the Bears would end up in the city of Chicago. So, that’s problematic. I’d love them to be in the city, but we’re three years in now, and he still has no plan,” Pritzker said.
The mayor’s office responded, saying, in part, “The City’s proposal remains the only plan centered on public ownership alongside a funding mechanism that does not burden property taxpayers while keeping the Bears in Chicago.”
And while Johnson says he will continue to work with stakeholders to keep the Bears where they are, the governor took another swipe related to budget requests, suggesting significant Chicago and Springfield communication problems.
“Again, we’ve seen almost nothing out of the mayoral administration here on that subject, or really any other. And so, to show up in May and have a bunch of demands seems like late in the game, and it’s unfortunate that’s happened most years,” Pritzker said.
Meanwhile, there are concerns about infrastructure needs around the Arlington Heights property. Particularly, roads and major interchanges would need upgrades. The concerns prompted mayors from neighboring Palatine, Rolling Meadows, and Schaumburg to send letters to the governor and leading lawmakers requesting a seat at the table over those plans.
“We’re very concerned about, how is all this traffic when you’re dealing with 60,000-70,000 people that are going to be either for a Bears game or a concert or some other event that’s there? How are they going to get around?” said Schaumburg Mayor Tom Dailly.
While the stadium politics continue to play out in Illinois, the Bears are planning to provide the NFL with an update on their future plans at the league’s meeting on Tuesday in Orlando.
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Illinois
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Illinois
Fire sweeps through old Balmoral Park racetrack facilities in Crete, Illinois
A fire at the vacant old Balmoral Park racetrack in Crete, Illinois, sent smoke billowing over several south Chicago suburbs Sunday morning.
Around 6:30 a.m., flames raced through the structures on the old racetrack grounds. Fire departments from several suburbs, as well as Northwest Indiana, were called in to help.
Balmoral Park dates back to 1926, when it opened as Lincoln Fields. The racetrack hosted both thoroughbred and harness races over the years.
A fire also damaged the grandstand at the racetrack during renovations in 1952, forcing the races for the 1952-53 season to move to Hawthorne Race Course in Stickney. Balmoral in turn picked up some races in 1986 after a fire destroyed the grandstand at Arlington Park in Arlington Heights the summer before.
Balmoral Park was hosting only harness racing when it closed at the end of 2015. The property was purchased the following year by Horse Shows In The Sun as a hunter-jumper horse show venue, but this only lasted a few years and the property has stood vacant ever since, reports noted.
Illinois
Rising 2027 wide receiver marks Illinois football as first official visit
Illinois football is building what looks to be a pretty solid class of 2027, and they are all in-state commits thus far.
The Illini have four players pledged for 2027. The national recruiting ranking is creeping up, too. Bret Bielema has us sitting at No. 57 in the country, which is a big improvement from the sub-No. 80 we were just weeks ago.
I love that Bielema is securing top talent, and they are all from the state of Illinois. Well, we could be adding another in-state talent in the near future.
On Saturday, according to 247Sports, Bennett Konkey is now going to be taking an official visit to Illinois. The visit will be on the weekend of June 12.
Konkey is a big-time recruit. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound wide receiver from Geneva High School in Illinois is rated as a three-star recruit and ranked as the No. 737 player in the class of 2027. He is also the No. 87 wide receiver in the country and the No. 26 player coming out of Illinois.
As of right now, Illinois is his only official visit that is set up. He has scholarship offers from some big-time programs like Duke, Wisconsin, and Iowa State, but Illinois seems to be on the inside track to land this kid.
There is a lot to love about Konkey’s game, too. The biggest thing that pops off the screen is his speed. He is a track athlete, so he can burn down the field. Having a nice big body helps at 6-foot-1, 180 pounds. That combination of size and speed is dangerous.
Bret Bielema is building a nice stable of wide receivers on the Illinois football roster
What is great about Bielema’s recruiting right now is that he knows the important positions. Having a good quarterback and offensive line is crucial. That quarterback also needs weapons.
Collin Dixon is going to be an All-Big Ten wide receiver this season. You can go down the line and point out some crucial pieces out wide in 2026. Hudson Clement and Brayden Trimble will be big this season. New additions Alex Perry and Ty Robinson will also have a say in snaps.
In 2027, Perry, Robinson, and Clement will depart, among others. That should give someone like Konkey the runway to see snaps and maybe even some starts as a freshman.
I think this kid has a chance to be a really good player at the next level. He isn’t one of these little scrappy type of slot receivers. Konkey is someone who can play out wide or in the slot. His versatility is phenomenal, and my hope is we can land him and continue building.
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