The Chicago Bears have reached the stage of their new stadium vision, where they have a detailed plan for its implementation. Now comes the hardest part: finding the money. If there is one thing to know about the state of Illinois, it's that discussing money is always a complete crap show. Unsurprisingly, Govern Pritzker and the rest of the state government have put him a solid wall of resistance to any idea of public money helping fund this project. Illinois Speak of the House Chris Welch summed it up in a recent interview by stating they are more focused on ensuring taxpayers have enough money to buy food and have a roof over their heads given the difficult economic situation.
However, things are never that simple. Welch wouldn't have made the comments he did on 670 The Score if they were. During the course of the interview, he offered many of the same explanations for why it's not happening. That is when things took a baffling shift. He explained that the state government had an issue with several things regarding the Bears' proposal. One of them was the fact they used a Minnesota-based architecture firm to do the stadium renderings, not one from Chicago.
Yes, really.
The Chicago Bears might be facing bullying tactics.
That quote suggests that the state is seeking every possible reason to avoid giving money to the Bears. There is no way a Minnesota firm doing the renderings should matter to the big picture at all. Welch's mention of it, along with his statement that the organization should be able to put forward even more private money in the venture, indicates this isn't a heartfelt stand by the government for the people. It is a negotiating tactic. They want to control how these discussions go. Insisting on a Chicago-based firm seems like a way for them to exert more power over talks.
Everything depends on how team president Kevin Warren feels about the situation. He will forge ahead if he thinks the Chicago Bears have a path forward in talks. He's known for being a strong negotiator. This isn't uncharted territory for him. At the same time, if the state refuses to budge on anything, the Bears may have to pivot back to Arlington Heights, where they have far more flexibility since they already own the necessary land. This is another reminder of how dumb things can get when lots of money is involved.
