Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show
Senator Bill Cunningham: Bears brought 'political complication' to stadium push
02 Jun 2026
Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
Chapter 1: What are the initial reactions to the Bears stadium situation?
We are happy to have on Vinny Rotino. Vinny, how are you?
I'm doing great. Thanks for having me on, guys. I tell you, I feel like I made it to the big leagues when I get on the score and get on your show. I appreciate you guys having me.
So now we have to continue to listen. You know, I've already had meetings already on my schedule that is going to continue those conversations. I'm looking forward to hearing what folks have to say. I want to hear what the mayors have to say about the proposal that came over to the House. Share that information with our caucus.
work with our leaders that are actively involved in this process, like Leader Cam Buckner. The work that he has put into this has been just amazing. And I'm extremely appreciative of Leader Buckner and the work that he's doing on this. And we have to make sure we're considering all of the factors.
That is House Speaker Chris Welch. This is Rahima Harrison Brody on 104.3 The Score. But I had State Senator Bill Cunningham on earlier, and we are listening to what he had to say because. Something about it wasn't right. We knew that, and now we're hearing it about the Bears stadium, not just from the state Senate, but also from other legislatures and also our callers.
312-644-6767 is our number. So let's continue, Marshall, listening to what Cunningham had to say because he explained why this didn't go well over the weekend at the Senate before the legislative session ended. Here's what he said about... Arlington Heights specifically, and how the Bears don't necessarily need state help in order to get the job done.
I think we lose sight of the fact that there is nothing stopping the Bears from breaking ground in Arlington Heights tomorrow and building a stadium. They can do that. There's no law prohibiting them from doing that. The village of Arlington Heights wants them. They can do that. The problem is they don't want to do that unless they get a massive tax break from the state of Illinois.
So they've introduced the political complication to this matter. You know, I know people get frustrated with the politics of this. The Bears have introduced politics to this. They're a private business. They can build a stadium there tomorrow. They've chosen not to do that without the public support. That injects politics into the situation. As far as Indiana is concerned, I'm just not sure.
I visited the site. It's a 25-minute drive from my house in Beverly. It looks complicated, but I'm not a structural engineer or an environmental engineer. I don't know how viable it is. I think there are plenty of legislators who do think it's a bluff, and I think that did contribute to legislators not wanting to rush in and come up with some solution. But, you know, we'll see.
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Chapter 2: What challenges are faced by the Bears in their stadium plans?
They can follow the actions. They can follow the time. And that's not to say that Indiana didn't put a good deal together. There's a lot of people saying that we don't we don't want it to be in Indiana. I've never said that.
I don't care if they play in Indiana or Arlington Heights or stay in Chicago. I rarely go to games, and that's not going to change whether or not I go to games. What I care about is, hey, how much is this going to cost me individually? How much is this going to cost you individually? I'm for the taxpayer every time.
I'm not a PSL holder. I'm not a personal seat license holder. So for me, the difference is negligible, especially for only eight or nine guaranteed dates out of the year. It's what the Bears want to do. But when they decided to ask for help and 630 says, you're ridiculous for thinking it's that simple. Don't be stupid. It is that simple. Joe Mansueto, for example, is doing that.
Tom Ricketts did that. It just costs a lot of money. That's how it's not easy for the Bears. But yes, it can be that simple. So if you want me to stop talking, this is a talk show. Find another station. In the meantime, let's listen to the rest of what Bill Cunningham, the guy who's actually in the room and in charge of some stuff, had to say.
Chapter 3: How does Senator Cunningham view the Bears' need for state support?
I would think if you were going to write a thesis about the best way to interact in a legislative process, You would not point to the Bears' effort as a textbook case of how to do that from start to finish. As I said before, it's been frustrating dealing with the Bears, and I think it was because they never really grasped how unusual of a path they've chosen here of trying to move
a professional franchise from one city to another within a state that is, to my knowledge, never been done via a subsidy or tax credit from the state government. So they picked a very unusual path, and I don't think they really grasped the complications that go along with that.
Naive, Layla. Naivete, I think, ruled the day.
These are grown men with whole ass jobs. It's not naivete.
I'm sorry.
Have you ever met a naive grown man?
Because I have.
I've met a lot of entitled ones.
Yeah. Same. Same. I agree with that as well. It's not as simple as they wanted it to be. It's not a matter of strong-arming. This is about actual negotiating and getting what you want by giving the people what they want. And by the people, I mean the taxpayers, and by the taxpayers, I mean their representatives in the state legislature.
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Chapter 4: What are the political complications surrounding the Bears' stadium proposal?
So downtown site. It was the mayor who decided not to even hear it, not to put it to a ballot where people can vote on it, which is usually the best way to get the accurate representation of whether or not taxpayers want it. So then Arlington, the city, decided to give him a deal on not only hotel tax, but rental car tax that would be able to pay for Cowboys Stadium.
There was also eminent domain declared at a couple of housing sites that were adjacent to the ballpark in Arlington at the time, which is now Globe Life Field, the same site. And that's how Jerry Jones got it done. He asked for the land possibilities and did due diligence before he got the stadium deal. So that's how that was done. If you were asking. 312-644-6767 is our number.
Let's go to Bob in Hammond, Indiana. Perhaps the site of the new Bears stadium. Hey, Bob.
I just wanted to make a quick comment. I believe the legislator in the state of Illinois there was Cunningham that has made the comment that there's absolutely nothing stopping the Bears from building in Arlington Heights right now. I agree with that. It's just a true statement. But there has to be some degree. He calls it a tax subsidy. He has the whatever tax abatement.
There has to be a definitive number of what you're going to pay in taxes. Could you imagine being a business owner? Maybe that's why so many businesses are leaving. People of wealth are leaving the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago and the county of Cook because everything is an unknown variable there. Everything. There does not appear as an outsider. Again, I live in Indiana.
We have a balanced budget. We don't seem to have the problems that you guys have across the border. But there seems to be such a degree of uncertainty about everything in the state of Illinois.
And I'm sorry, I don't mean to be political, but I would not want to open a business in the state of Illinois if would anybody, excuse me, I shouldn't even say myself, would anybody open a business in the state of Illinois today until you actually have some numbers nailed down. This has been going on for three years in the state of Illinois.
Three years this has been going on, and they've gotten absolutely nowhere in the state of Illinois. At one point, the legislators in the state of Illinois said that the Bears stadium was not even going to be on their agenda. What happened? Indiana stepped up and Illinois fell all over themselves.
Well, Bob, it's because Indiana was asked for public money.
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Chapter 5: Why do some legislators believe the Bears' plans are a bluff?
And so the process that's typical in these cases was what was followed. There were multiple cities in Indiana that came with proposals. If you recall, Portage has a proposal. We play the Hallis Harbor discussion a lot. There was actually a pretty interesting pitch when it came to the financing. There was the Hammond site. There were a bunch of sites that were suggested. And then the state voted.
The state didn't vote because you guys, then you would have had a vote. But the legislators of the state then tried to figure out, OK, well, what's the most viable site? How are we going to pay for it on the taxing side? And they did that with the stadium in Indianapolis as well. And then the process was all very reflective of that.
So I think that that's the point is he's right about the process being different. But that's the Bears could have had that happen here. But their process was out of order.
That first step. It comes back to that first step.
He's right about the process giving certainty. He's absolutely correct about that.
Which is what I said.
But the reason this hasn't happened for three years is because the process wasn't in that order.
No, my bottom line is what Cunningham said. Listen, I understand what he's saying. Technically, yes, they can build anytime they want on the land that they own. But without tax certainty, that's dumb. That's just dumb for a business of their size where the bill's going to be that big. Not a smart play. I wouldn't do it.
Well, and that's it. If this is really about the deal, you know where the deal is. Now, we've got a lot more calls. I know we wanted to talk White Sox. We're talking Bears football at 11. I would like to keep these guys on the line and take the call. So 312-644-6767 is our number. This is Rahimi Harrison-Grady. We'll get to your calls next on The Score.
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