Illinois’ Pritzker does not think Chicago Bears want to move to Indiana

• Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker expressed doubt that the Chicago Bears will actually move to Indiana.
• The Bears announced in June their intention to build a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana.
• Pritzker remains hopeful a deal can be made to keep the team in Illinois, possibly at the Arlington Heights site.
• The governor stated he is unwilling to use taxpayer money for a new stadium but would help with infrastructure costs.

SHIRLEY — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker does not think the Chicago Bears actually want to leave Illinois for a new home in Indiana, the governor said Monday.

Pritzker addressed the future of the Chicago Bears, which in June announced their intentions to build a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana, during an agriculture event in Shirley on Monday, saying he did not believe the team actually want to make the move across the border.

The Bears and Illinois lawmakers went back and forth for months over a potential deal that would keep the team in Illinois at a 326-acre site in Arlington Heights, a Chicago suburb, which the Bears have owned since 2021.

More: Illinois lawmakers react to Bears announcement, say it’s not ‘done deal’

However, the Illinois legislature failed to pass a bill this spring solidifying a deal, and in June the Bears announced they intended to build a stadium in Hammond at a site that sits atop a slag heap and near hazardous wastes drop sites.

Pritzker, however, does not think the Bears truly want to make this move. He said Monday he is "hopeful" a deal can still be struck that will keep the NFL team in Illinois.

"I love Indiana, love Indiana, but I don’t think the Bears really want to go to Indiana and I think that the most unpopular governor in the entire country Gov. (Mike) Braun, is attempting to make the case that he is winning the Chicago Bears over to Indiana, but I don’t actually think that’s happening," Pritzker said. "But maybe he thinks he can get reelected just by saying that."

Republican Darren Bailey, who is running against Pritzker in November’s gubernatorial election, cast the possible move to Indiana by the Bears as a done deal on Monday, saying it was too late to convince the team to stay.

Bailey said he talked to Braun about Indiana’s deal with the Bears and was assured "that ship sailed about five years ago." He called any words from Pritzker about keeping the Bears in Illinois "empty promises."

"I do believe, unfortunately, that the Bears are gone," Bailey said.

Bailey also said he does not want to see any more deals done "off the backs of taxpayers," especially given the Bears are a multi-billion-dollar franchise.

"But, unfortunately, I believe the Bears are gone because proper entities of leadership did not work timely," Bailey said. "And you will have my word that as your governor that we will be front and center with communication and there will be no more businesses leaving this state for failure of communication or failure of leadership."

Will the Bears actually leave Illinois?

If you take what leadership from the Chicago Bears franchise has said at face value, then yes, the Chicago Bears are going to be moving forward with a plan to construct a multi-billion-dollar stadium, using $2 billion of their own money and $1 billion of money from the state of Indiana to fund the project.

"We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana to the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city," Bears chairman George H. McCaskey and team president and CEO Kevin Warren said in a June statement. "It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses."

More: Are Chicago Bears leaving Illinois? What we know about Indiana deal

However, much like an actual football game, nothing is done until the clock strikes zero, and if you take what Pritzker said Monday seriously, there is still plenty of room for the Bears and Illinois lawmakers to strike a deal when the state legislature returns to work in November.

The Illinois Senate and House each passed bills this spring that offer proposals to keep the Bears in Illinois, however, neither bill was passed by the other chamber before legislative session ended.

It is now up to the Bears, Pritzker said Monday, to take those two bills and figure out which pieces of the legislation they can work with. However, Pritzker did say he is not in favor of giving a team valued at $9 billion and owned by billionaires to give away taxpayer money so they can build a new stadium.

"I’m sorry, but most people can’t afford to go to a Bears game," Pritzker said. "Most people can’t afford to buy hot dogs at Bears games. So yes, I want them to stay, they’re a business in the state of Illinois. We can provide incentives, attractions for businesses to come into Illinois and stay in Illinois. But I’m telling you, writing a check for $2 billion to build a stadium doesn’t make sense to me."

Pritzker did say the state would build roads and sewers and "every kind of infrastructure they need." The Bears have said they would need to state to pay $855 million for infrastructure improvements around the Arlington Heights location.

When does the Chicago Bears season begin?

Despite the questions about their future still hanging over Halas Hall, the Chicago Bears still have a season to play in 2026.

The Chicago Bears kickoff their regular season on Sunday, Sept. 13, against the Carolina Panthers in Carolina. The Bears first home game is the following week on Sunday, Sept. 20, against the Minnesota Vikings.