Daily Herald opinion: Trust and urgency: Bears’ latest shift shows team can have faith in suburbs' determination, preparation

At this stage of the maybe-on, maybe-off, maybe-on-again plans for a Bears stadium in Arlington Heights, it can still feel premature to put up a “Welcome Back!” sign at entrances to the village. But there is a certain tone of finality in the one-sentence statement issued by the franchise Friday.

Noting “significant progress” in recent talks with Arlington Heights officials, team officials said they “look forward to continuing to work with state and local leaders on making a transformative economic development project for the region a reality.”

Things have been moving in that direction for months, so Friday’s announcement did not come as a big surprise. It did, however, reinforce the upbeat indications Arlington Heights officials have been signaling lately, and it certainly emphasizes the need for the kind of planning our Christopher Placek describes on today's front page.

It is also a testament to the serious, conscientious work of elected and administrative officials in Arlington Heights who refused to be disheartened by the Bears' previously stated preference for a team-centered lakefront development. While there have been early controversies — monthslong negotiations over the site's property-tax impact on local schools, for one — and will likely be more in the months and years ahead, local officials have shown that they can be stable, resourceful and strong negotiators, likely less encumbered by political or financial gamesmanship than the Bears would encounter trying to navigate Chicago city politics alongside clearly unsympathetic state leadership.

If nothing else, the Bears’ statement adds a new sense of urgency to local planners’ work — not just out of a desire to get the work done before team owners change their minds again, but also because there is so much work to do.

Not that anyone has been sitting around waiting for permission to get busy. As Placek reports, Arlington Heights police and fire officials visited similarly placed NFL stadiums in California, Massachusetts, Texas and Las Vegas in 2022 to get a first-hand look at what they could be in for — realizing that the proposed $5 billion development on the 326-acre Arlington Park property will surely present its own unique challenges and opportunities.

These kinds of preparations surely demonstrate to the Bears that in the suburbs they will be dealing with local leaders who recognize the value of having an NFL franchise in the region and the importance of setting it up for success, but who also will protect and enhance the interests of their own taxpayers and communities.

That sort of relationship implies an important measure of trust that will be needed if the project is ever to be completed successfully. The Bears statement Friday is an indication that such trust exists, but it’s still not yet — and, yes, one does tire of repeating this — the final word.

“We can read between those lines the same way and say, ‘Arlington Heights for sure they’re coming,’ ” Arlington Heights Village President Jim Tinaglia told Placek on Friday. “But when (Bears CEO) Kevin (Warren) or (Chairman) George (McCaskey) looks me in the eye and says, ‘Jim, we are teammates, and we’re coming your way,’ that’s when I say, ‘OK, I am ready to work with you, and let’s make this all happen the best way possible.’ ”

Whereas in the city, state Rep. Kam Buckner, the Chicago Democrat whose district includes Soldier Field, turned to sports vernacular to describe his view of what’s happening in a response on X: “A hard count to bait Springfield, play-action fake to sell the lakefront dream, then a double reverse back to Arlington. This isn’t a development plan, it’s a master class in stadium whiplash. And it isn’t over.”

Perhaps not. But it may be that the two-minute warning has sounded with cause for the suburbs to head back to the locker room to dust off those “Welcome back!” signs.