Daily Herald opinion: A Republican assist: Brad Stephens playing long game to keep Bears in Illinois

While Chicago Democrats continue to play hardball on helping the Bears build a stadium in Arlington Heights, their suburban counterparts are finding support — and a healthy dose of pragmatism — from across the aisle.

As our Chris Placek reported Tuesday, State Rep. Brad Stephens of Rosemont and three other House Republicans are scheduled to meet Wednesday with Deputy Gov. Andy Manar and other members of Gov. JB Pritzker’s staff to discuss megaproject legislation that would give the NFL team a tax break to develop a domed stadium and much more on the 326-acre former Arlington Park site purchased in 2023.

Stephens wasn’t always a fan of the Bears relocating to the ’burbs. With the majority of his district in Chicago, the 20th District rep — who also serves as Rosemont’s mayor — endorsed a plan in 2024 for a publicly subsidized stadium on the city’s lakefront.

His reason? “The Chicago Bears belong in Chicago,” he said at the time.

Flash forward two years and Stephens has come to acknowledge what Chicago Democrats will not: Blocking a move to the suburbs won’t keep the team in the city. Rather, inaction could send the Bears over the border to Indiana, where lawmakers have quickly rolled out a welcome mat.

On Monday, he criticized Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and “timid” Democratic lawmakers for holding onto hopes the team will stay in the city.

“They don’t want to go where he wants them to go,” Stephens told Placek. “That’s their prerogative.”

Bipartisan efforts to move legislation, especially in today’s highly polarized political climate, ought to be lauded. So should Stephens’ change of heart, a nod to the reality of the moment over the pull of the past.

It’s a smart move for Stephens and other suburban Republicans, who can use support for team tax breaks as leverage for broader property tax reforms.

That could be the long game, but a realistic Stephens also grasps that time is running out to keep the Bears in Illinois as the legislation that would help do that has languished for three long years.

Indiana lawmakers, meanwhile, took mere weeks to approve Bears-friendly legislation as soon as they caught a whiff of team interest.

That should have sent a strong message to Chicago holdouts that it is time to act. Instead, the measure awaits, still falling short of Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s minimum 60-vote threshold to be called to the House floor for a vote.

Both houses of the Illinois General Assembly are back in Springfield this week to confront a host of complicated issues, including state finances. But Bears leadership has made clear they won’t wait until next year if the spring session closes next month without a deal.

That’s why Chicago lawmakers must join with Stephens and suburban Democrats to act with practicality and purpose, finally accepting that the Arlington Heights site offers what the city cannot.

Without compromise, their “my way or the highway” approach could help pave the Bears’ path to Hammond.