Callers sound off on Bears' stadium push: 'They're not leaving Illinois'
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Layla Rahimi, Marshall Harris, Mark Grody, Rahimi, Harrison, Grody on 104.3 The Score.
What recent news impacts the Bears' stadium situation?
This is Rahimi Harrison Brody on 104.3 The Score talking about the latest news from the state of Illinois regarding the possibility of the Bears getting some legislation that would help with their property tax discussion regarding the property they bought in Arlington Heights. Cam Buckner is going to be on the afternoon show on Spiegel and Holmes to give us some more clarity. That will happen at four o'clock today. In the meantime, we're taking your calls because it's your money. So if it's your money, then you should be able to call. 3-1-2-6-44-67-67 is the number. Let's go to Mario in Hyde Park. Mario, you're on 104.3, the score. That sounds so crazy. 104.3, the score. Wow. I like that. You sound great, man.
You sound, Mario, you are made for FM. More than you know, Mark, girl. Oh, yeah? I feel like what I said earlier, a year ago is kind of still in play. They're not leaving Illinois. I agree with Marshall. Indiana's not a bluff at all. That's real. I think it's more real than it's ever been. That's why this new move from the state legislature to maybe come up with a bill to pass aside the needs of the Bears is going to probably happen. I don't think if J.B. Pritzker is thinking about an extended run, here in Illinois being governor or perhaps going national and maybe running for president, I don't think that he thinks it's a good idea to have that on his list of things that he let the Bears lead in the, I'm sorry, Illinois.
But I go back to the beginning. The Bears are a cash cow for the state. They'll do what they have to do to get them to stay. Where it gets kind of cloudy is What are taxpayers willing to accept? Not what are they willing to pay?
How are callers reacting to the Bears' potential move?
If you, if you follow, what would they accept as? Okay. That's enough for me. I can deal with that as opposed to outright going, I'm not going to pay for any of it because I don't believe the bears stay unless the taxpayers do pay for some of it. And then the other part now leaves that $500 million. Do you think people's minds would change about footing some of this bill if the Bears were to say, we will eliminate that $500 million debt on Soldier Field? And that's it. Thanks, guys. No, I think you're right, Mario. It is what is the public willing to accept. The other problem is you know where one part of it would be going if you watch the Bears and we talk about them every day and you understand that part.
What you don't know is where that money goes if you're not taking it to the Bears. And that's where it gets hard and gets tricky. And frankly, it gets hard for politicians to hammer the point home as to why it's not necessarily sound business. You know, and that's what makes it difficult. We all talk about the Bears. We all understand why the stadium would make sense from a Bears standpoint. That part of it is easy. It's just trying to figure out how the budget gets stretched and moved and repurposed and who pays, who loses, who benefits. That's where this gets hard to discuss. And Governor Pritzker does have, just addressing the other sort of part of Mario's call there, He does have a needle-to-thread here, a very fine one at that, because he's right.
Part of the reason the state of Illinois is rustling up is because not on my watch, the Chicago Bears. I don't want to be known historically as the governor who let the Bears go to Indiana. So not on his watch, but also simultaneously, you're not going to – raise the taxes beyond belief to the state of Illinois, while I do have bigger aspirations, possibly, or I want to leave a strong legacy in Illinois. So he has two things that, or the state of Illinois has two things that they are trying to negotiate. In this stare down, though, don't you think there's more pressure on J.B. Pritzker and the politicians to keep the team Illinois than there is on George McCaskey and the Bears to stay in Illinois?
That's a great question. I don't necessarily know because it's just like what Mario was saying.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:12
2
What recent news impacts the Bears' stadium situation?
0:12–2:15
3
How are callers reacting to the Bears' potential move?
2:15–4:59
4
What are the implications of Illinois legislation for the Bears?
4:59–8:23
5
How do taxpayers feel about funding the Bears' new stadium?
8:23–9:08
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