Report: Bears are working on legislation that could keep them in Illinois
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What recent developments are impacting the Bears' stadium search?
rahimi harrison grody oh sorry but what's your profanity you said pop of the mind no no you know what that's that you gotta let it flow our poor producer ray spilled his coffee so thanks for christening our studio over here no no it's it's okay it's okay middays 10 to 2 on 104.3 the score i have two words for you slack heap
Oh, man. And now it's time for the latest edition of Stupid Stadium Stuff with your hosts, Marshall Harris and Leila Rahimi. Marshall, I will tell you that there have been developments originally reported by Politico and now other outlets as well. Two new suitors have stepped up in the Bears stadium search.
Who are the new suitors for the Bears' stadium location?
One is on Chicago's southeast side. The other is in McCook. That is the smallest municipality in Cook County. One is the U.S. Steel South Works site. And these are clearly sites that have to be vetted. They go through the process like everything else. But you know what I thought when I saw these was that, oh, that would make sense as to why perhaps the Chicago contingent did not want the pilot bill passing out of the Senate. Wouldn't you know?
They want more time to come up with more locations where the Bears could viably build a stadium on land that they do not currently own, even though they've already bought land that they currently own, where they said they plan to build a stadium.
What are the implications of the Bears' new stadium legislation?
So we've heard from everybody involved except for the Bears.
Oh, funny how that works.
As far as intent, and it would seem like that's because they want to be vague. So we get that information. That's the latest. The Politico article is pretty in-depth when it comes to discussing the possibilities of where it could be. But then we got Cam Buckner on the phone because there's been talk about a possible special session. So Cam Buckner was on with Mully and Haw this morning. He is a state representative. He represents the district that envelops Soldier Field. And he talked about the... Let's say it now. This is important for everybody to know. The ongoing conversations.
They're still having with the Bears.
How are state representatives involved in the Bears' stadium discussions?
The Hammond announcement, quote unquote, that there were still conversations going on between the organization and the state of Illinois. And those conversations do continue. I think if you go back and you look at what they said a few weeks ago, it wasn't anything that was conclusive, right? They didn't say we're done here. We're moving forward. And so those conversations have continued and they've continued in earnest. There's been calls for a special session, but as Governor Pritzker said in your bumper segment, that we've got to be able to agree on a deal before we call a special session. That has to happen first. But we've got some time to figure that out and to get there. So I think that we are moving
in the right direction. The new report is that the Bears are working on their own piece of legislation for this, which I think makes all the sense in the world. As you guys know, in a former life, I did government affairs for the Chicago Cubs during the Wrigley Fair renovation project. And we didn't ask the city council to give us a plan.
Why has the Bears' stadium resolution process been delayed?
We brought a plan to them. And some things they said yes to, other things they said no to, and we worked our way through it. But that's the way this thing works. And so I think we're in a good kind of portion of this conversation. Cam Buckner sounding so rational and explaining how this was probably supposed to go from the jump if you were doing your due diligence and checking all the boxes to building an NFL stadium.
Part of what lobbyists do is suggest bills to put forth or language at least that lawmakers can review.
And then they can take that, turn that into a bill. It gets passed. It gets stamped by the governor. And then you can build a stadium.
But the governor, he's right. There was a quote from J.B. Pritzker. Cam Buckner, media savvy, knew that that was a bump. That's what we call the soundbite coming in from a break.
What role does legislation play in the Bears' stadium plans?
So you heard it there that J.B. Pritzker said, the legislature can also call a special session. It doesn't have to be me.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What recent developments are impacting the Bears' stadium search?
0:00–0:48
2
Who are the new suitors for the Bears' stadium location?
0:48–1:31
3
What are the implications of the Bears' new stadium legislation?
1:31–2:19
4
How are state representatives involved in the Bears' stadium discussions?
2:19–3:18
5
Why has the Bears' stadium resolution process been delayed?
3:18–4:05
6
What role does legislation play in the Bears' stadium plans?
4:05–5:14
7
How can previous stadium negotiations inform current discussions?
5:14–5:45
8
What are the future steps for the Bears and their stadium project?
5:45–8:38
Speakers
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