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.