Greenberg: The Bears’ stadium saga rolls on, but are they really moving to Indiana?

Posted June 03, 2026 10:27 am

By Jon Greenberg

It’s been a long time since I watched it, but I remember “The Neverending Story” being a lot more entertaining.

The new version, co-produced by the state of Illinois and the Chicago Bears, is getting a bit tedious.

While you were sleeping Monday morning, the Illinois General Assembly somehow ended its spring session without a deal to help fund the Chicago Bears’ long-running stadium gambit. After months of incremental progress toward a deal, a late audible by the state Senate and a flag on the play from the House caused the clock to run out.

To keep the tired football metaphors going, it felt like a tie that left everyone unsatisfied. Well, except for the Indiana state legislature, which breezily passed a bill that opened the door for the Bears to move across state lines to Hammond.

But this game isn’t over yet. Seriously.

In a statement released early Monday morning after a stadium authority bill died in the Illinois House (which had already passed a mega-projects bill that died in the state Senate this weekend), the Bears noted: “We will finalize our evaluation of both Arlington Heights and Hammond, and remain on the late spring/early summer timeline that we have previously communicated. We will provide an update when we have a decision to share.”

Translation: We really want to build on the land we own in Arlington Heights, but you’re making it tough on us!

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker told reporters he would continue to work to get a deal done between now and the state legislature’s veto session in the fall but also reiterated he wouldn’t just hand over public money to the Bears.

“The reality is, I wasn’t willing to give up billions of dollars of taxpayer money in order to give it to a billionaire-owned team,” he said.

The reality also is his office tried to broker a deal in the late stages of the legislative session but was hamstrung by political factions within his own party, not to mention the Bears, who have been described, generously, as “wishy washy” for their dalliances with Arlington Heights, the city of Chicago and Hammond over the past five years.

Arlington Heights mayor Jim Tinaglia can’t believe his village is still waiting for the Bears to build on the old racetrack land they bought and tore down.

“The Village of Arlington Heights has spent the past five years working diligently to prepare for the redevelopment of Arlington Park,” Tinaglia said in a statement. “We are truly disappointed with the outcome from the spring legislative session yet again. Although we recognize that these discussions are complex and involve many stakeholders, this is clearly a fumble for the state of Illinois.”

All along, I’ve heaped blame on the Bears who have managed this scenario about as poorly as they used to handle the football part of the family business. But there’s no question the General Assembly deserves its share of the fans’ ire. How they managed to not pass a bill, complicated as that process can be, is a real head-scratcher considering both the House and Senate passed their own versions during the spring session.

There are plenty of more important problems in the state, but this is a pretty big bit of business, and Indiana put a lot of pressure on Illinois by passing a stadium authority bill during the NFL combine in Indianapolis.

Government inaction in Springfield is nothing new. But then again, neither is the Bears fumbling and bumbling.

How could they buy a plot of land for almost $200 million in 2023 and still not have broken ground on a stadium project? How could they possibly be at a point where building a stadium near a Superfund site and an oil refinery in northwest Indiana is their best alternative?

While I think the Bears belong in Chicago, the ship has obviously sailed away from Burnham Harbor. Mayor Brandon Johnson and local legislators should just accept it and focus on making sure Soldier Field can still attract concerts and other big events.

Everyone is at fault here, except, of course, for Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams, who have brought some much-needed respect back to a hapless organization. Perhaps the Bears should’ve sent them to Springfield to lobby for the bill. Honestly, why didn’t they?

Though the Bears said they’re sticking to their late spring/early summer deadline to make a decision, I’ll believe it when shovels hit the ground.

After all, Bears president Kevin Warren has been promising us some sweet shovel action for years.

At the 2024 Super Bowl in Las Vegas, he told WGN’s Jarrett Payton they would start moving dirt imminently.

“The timeline has to be in 2024,” Warren said then. “In a perfect world, I would like to have clarity in this legislative session that is coming up. Time is money. It takes probably three years once you put a shovel in the ground. ’24 should be the focal point.”

A month later, he told reporters, “The plan will be to put a shovel in the ground on the lakefront.”

By January 2025, Warren still couldn’t tell you where the Bears were building a stadium, but he was confident it would start soon.

“I remain steadfast that the goal we have is shovels in the ground in 2025,” he said. “I’m confident it will happen.”

When it was politely suggested that no progress had been made in years, Warren reminded us they were having meetings every day. Have faith, he told us.

So again, I’ll believe this is over when a celebratory shovel hits the ground either in suburban Chicago or Hammond.

Unfortunately, while we’d all love some closure on this story, it doesn’t really have to end quite yet.

The Bears have a lease that runs until 2033 and the Illinois state legislature has a veto session in November. Given that the House and Senate each passed a bill, unsuccessful or not, there is obviously interest in getting something done.

These stadium boondoggles are always bad for the taxpayers. But no one cheers for good governance. Imagine being the politicians responsible for the Bears leaving the state for Indiana.

The neighboring state is ready and willing to welcome the franchise, but the Bears still have to figure out if the Hammond site is actually suitable for a stadium and a mixed-use development. It’s certainly not preferable.

If George McCaskey moves the “pride and joy of Illinois” to Indiana, it will be a dark day in the history of the charter franchise.

If I were him, I’d come out and say we’re staying in Illinois and let’s get a deal done. If he did that, maybe this rambling story will finally end.