Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Geoff Buchholz talks Bears' mixed messages about their stadium plan
01 Jun 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What are the Bears' current stadium plans and challenges?
With your emphasis on patience, how much longer are you willing to wait for deals to come to you? Well, Kevin has said and the commissioner has said we need to make a decision sooner rather than later. When the process is completed in one place or the other and we have a deal to consider, then we'll look to see where we are with the other situation and we'll make a decision.
At this point, I miss the horse races. That's George McCaskey. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grody on 104.3 The Score. And kind enough to take time out of his incredibly busy day, clear up some stuff for us. Joining us in studio is Jeff Buchholz, the WBBM Newsradio political editor.
Good morning.
guys good morning jeff uh you've been on this story for months you also have been on this story since five o'clock this morning yes what if you had to tell people in layman's terms on the sports station what has happened and why we just read a statement from brandon johnson who sounds seemingly happy with the fact that the bill did not get done how do you explain it uh
Ultimately, what happened here, I think, is that, well, I mean, this all kind of started to unravel over the weekend. And the Senate has been meeting for probably the last month or so to try to figure out how to get to yes on the bill that passed the House.
And we talked about that when it happened, this Christmas tree of a bill that included the pilot legislation payment in lieu of taxes to let the bears and other megaproject developers participate. negotiate long-term property tax deals and payments with local governments in lieu of paying their property taxes every year.
But it also had incentives to redevelop rail yards and a boost in tourism for Springfield and all this other stuff. And so it made it mostly to get support from Republicans and people outside the city of Chicago. And so it went to the Senate. But ultimately, the Senate Had trouble. The Chicago delegation in particular had a problem with this measure.
And Bill Cunningham, who's the sponsor of this new Senate bill, which we'll talk about in a sec, said, you know, the Chicago delegation is being asked to vote for a bill that would encourage that would help the bears leave the city of Chicago. And they don't really want to do that.
Adding to this is the Bears having said repeatedly, and Kevin Warren has said this a number of times, and they released a statement a couple weeks ago saying, we have two sites. It's Arlington Park, which we own, or Hammond, where Indiana will build us a stadium.
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Chapter 2: Why did the bill to support the Bears' stadium fail?
And I'm like, so as I understand your position, what you're telling lawmakers there is nobody likes this bill, and I can't imagine why anybody who supports or represents Chicago would vote for it. And he laughed, and he said, God, when you say it like that, it sounds so harsh. I said, but that's not inaccurate, right? He said, no, it's not inaccurate. Everybody hates this bill.
Everybody hates this bill.
Yes.
Okay, so since everybody hates the bill, tell me if this is not an accurate statement then, because this is my belief.
I think that Mayor Johnson and the Chicago caucus, if you will, believes that the city of Chicago, Cook County, benefits more from the stadium being built in Indiana than it does built in Arlington Heights because of all the money that's going to be spent in Chicago as opposed to way up in the burbs.
I agree. That's an interesting theory, Marshall. And I asked the mayor when we were talking, and at the beginning of May, he said, this whole idea of Hammond, Indiana, I just really question the validity of this idea. And I think what he was saying there was that in his view, and Chris Welch has said this as well, that he believes that this whole overture to Indiana is a negotiating tactic.
Absolutely. Right. And so I said, well, what if you're wrong? And he said, well, I know what I'm right about, and that's the best place for the Chicago Bears is on the lakefront. I don't know if his philosophy is if it's not going to be in Chicago, then I don't want it anywhere in Illinois. Because for a lot of – and Cam Buckner even said this to me a few months ago –
There are people, Bears fans on the south side, for whom a stadium in Hammond wouldn't be the worst deal in the world. That would be nice for them.
I mean, but we don't, you know, yes. But at the same time, there's the toll increase that would happen. The taxes for a ticket purchaser that would also be levied. The taxes on the Indiana side were pretty, there were numerous.
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Chapter 3: What mixed messages are the Bears sending about their location?
The Lucas Museum would have been owned by the Lucas Foundation, would have been owned by George and Melody Lucas. This would be owned by the public. And the mayor has insisted that the 2024 plan to, I mean, not just build a stadium, remake the entire museum campus around this stadium. That's the one he's talking about. And he has said it's the only viable plan.
well and that just leads the other question to be we've gotten multiple reports saying the bears didn't listen to their lobbyists we've gotten multiple reports of multiple plans then there's a side conversation that's happening to make me ask what is the plan it sounds like they've abandoned all of them at various times
That is an excellent question. And I think it's one of the reasons why you have seen reticence on the part of lawmakers in Springfield. Because they are getting... I mean, if we're getting mixed messages and we're all talking about the different things we're hearing from the Bears, I think state lawmakers are hearing the same thing.
And while Scott Hagel, the chief lobbyist and the PR person for the Bears, was in Springfield, no one saw Kevin Warren there. No one saw George McCaskey there. So I don't... I think there are questions about what the plan is, clearly.
Scott Hagel is the chief lobbyist.
Scott Hagel, the marketing manager for the— Governmental and Public Affairs Director, I think, is his title. I could be wrong about that. But typically when you see head of government affairs, he's their head lobbyist.
Are we now just—go ahead, Mark. No, I was just going to say, like, it's just— I understood Kevin Warren's intentions with everything that he has done. The resume is good, but like many others that have come through this city, Jeff, and you know this, you cannot underestimate the state of Illinois or the city of Chicago.
Everybody thinks they can, and then they come in and realize that you're not in Minnesota anymore, nor are you with the NCAA anymore.
Right, but part of the challenge for Kevin Warren is that he is working with a piece of property that was purchased before he got there. That's true. That was on Ted Phillips' watch. Right, Ted Phillips' business.
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