Illinois House speaker calls Bears stadium ask ‘insensitive’ amid budget pressures
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said he is hopeful about the Chicago Bears’ prospects of victory over the Green Bay Packers in their playoff game on Saturday.
But he likely didn’t instill any hope in team officials who are seeking state resources to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights.
“When folks say what’s your priority going into the legislative session, we’re trying to bring down the cost of living,” Welch said Tuesday at a City Club of Chicago event. “Talking about a brand new Bears stadium when this one’s not even 25 years old, that’s insensitive to what real people are going through right now.”
Welch was addressing questions about the Bears’ request for property tax breaks and more than $800 million in state support for infrastructure upgrades.
Bears President/CEO Kevin Warren claimed in a letter to fans last month that the team, which Forbes values at $8.2 billion, was “told directly by State leadership, our project will not be a priority in 2026.” Welch, a Democrat from West suburban Hillside, did not dispute the claim.
As a result, Warren wrote, the team is now exploring other stadium sites, including in northwest Indiana.
Gov. JB Pritzker has said he is open to allocating state funds for infrastructure upgrades to accommodate crowds near the former Arlington Park race course, the team-owned potential development site. But he’s so far declined to support direct tax breaks or financial aid for team facilities.
Some suburban Democrats support helping the Bears relocate to Arlington Heights, but the team faces a math problem in the legislature. Twenty-eight of the 78 House Democrats live in Chicago and several of them have expressed opposition to the team moving out of the city. Welch has adopted a rule for the House Democratic caucus that at least 60 Democrats must support a bill to allow it to move forward.
Senate President Don Harmon isn’t prioritizing the Bears in the Senate either.
“President Harmon agrees that we need to stay focused on issues like education and health care and everyday affordability — the things people care about — especially given the economic uncertainties being thrown at us by Washington,” Harmon spokesperson John Patterson said in an email.
Budget situation
Another hindrance for the Bears is the state budget. Pritzker told lawmakers last year during his annual budget address there was little room for new spending and any lawmaker that wanted money for a new program would have to come up with a corresponding cut.
The fiscal year 2026 budget ultimately increased spending in most areas by less than 1%.
State lawmakers will return to Springfield next week to begin the spring legislative session, and the budget picture remains murky. The governor’s budget office announced in the fall that the state was on track to run a $2.2 billion in fiscal year 2027, which begins on July 1.
Amid that landscape, Welch said members of his caucus are not hearing from their constituents about the Bears.
“They’re hearing people talk about the cost of prescription drugs, about premiums of their health insurance going up, grocery prices, rent; they’re talking about cost of living,” Welch said. “I don’t know anyone that has knocked on a door and someone has said anything about the Chicago Bears.”
No state leader, including Welch on Tuesday, has explicitly ruled out addressing the Bears’ concerns this year. But the speaker, who is entering his sixth year leading the House, said this session will be all about “affordability.”
Pritzker is scheduled to present his FY27 budget proposal on Feb. 18, which will include new estimates from his office about revenue for the current year and a plan to close next year’s projected deficit.