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Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show

Transition: Bears' stadium saga never ceases to astonish us

03 Jun 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.031 - 3.46 Marshall Harris

Bear down. Did I get that right? Bear down.

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4.503 - 26.538 Leila Rahimi

The soundbite is pristine. There's no doubt about that. Thanks to our guests. Thanks to Mike Florio. Thanks to Mayor Brandon Johnson for coming in. Thanks to Ray Diaz for booking him. Thanks to Grant Leder for filling in for Ray Diaz. He is a sound tornado today, cutting up all the audio and working with us on the phones. Thanks to Tyler Buterbaugh. Thanks in part to Brandon Fryer.

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26.619 - 30.645 Leila Rahimi

Thanks to our video team, Connor O'Donnell, Jacob Stutz, Max Curtis,

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30.625 - 56.548 Leila Rahimi

cody westerland and our entire score crew today big team for making everything happen and thanks to lawrence holmes and matt spiegel for hanging out with us at this juncture in time hi guys fellas oh our transition is brought to you by torque coatings thanks to them for sponsoring this transition high performance coatings for your home or business torque t-o-r-q coatings.com thought you guys did a terrific job with the mayor

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56.663 - 69.662 Laurence Holmes

That's a big spot. And the mayor coming in, clearly with talking points. He was ready to roll through. But I thought you guys did a great job. Nice day for the midday show here.

69.943 - 86.731 Marshall Harris

I thought the funny thing is, you know he's going to have talking points, right? So you try. This is my approach. I try to let him exhaust the talking point. And then hit them on the back end of, okay, you just got done with the talking point. Before you can reload the next talking point, let's try to get some answers here.

86.751 - 95.126 Leila Rahimi

And that's it. And we asked about Friends of the Parks. We asked about what the changes would be to the 2024 plan, which we definitely have discussed on the Midday Show, haven't we, Lawrence?

95.227 - 95.968 Unknown

For sure.

95.948 - 103.361 Leila Rahimi

Yeah, and then what happened after that? So tell me how it changed. And we're still footing the bill for when the IFSA can't make its bills.

Chapter 2: How does the mayor's approach to the stadium issue reflect his political strategy?

175.526 - 181.373 Leila Rahimi

So, OK, everybody said, hey, bears, we still have these things for you. What are you going to do?

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182.669 - 211.667 Laurence Holmes

Look, I think you've done a really good job of talking about the ins and outs and some of the finances of it, which make my head hurt. But you guys have done a really good job, and I think the mayor is just... Emptily bloviating into the freaking wind. Like he's just... Obstructionist politics is the nicest way to describe it.

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212.248 - 233.797 Laurence Holmes

Just, you know, spitting complete trash into the wind to try and distract you from the fact that they lost. The city lost, man. They don't have the sway that they used to. And it's just not going to happen. May 22nd, the Bears put out a statement saying, Saying it's Arlington Heights or Indiana. And what are we doing here in early June?

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233.857 - 238.546 Laurence Holmes

He's on a media tour trying to tell you that he still has this girlfriend that does not exist.

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238.847 - 245.319 Leila Rahimi

But at the same time, what were the term sheets? And if you did sign them, why didn't that come out prior to this?

245.359 - 249.227 Laurence Holmes

Term sheets is just another way for him to say we're trying. Yeah, but...

249.207 - 251.149 Leila Rahimi

It does help explain what's happening.

251.39 - 262.984 Marshall Harris

But the bears aren't even involved in the term sheets. That's what I'm saying. Term sheets is cool. Ongoing conversation is cool until you tell me it's been five weeks or so since you actually had a conversation.

263.364 - 274.438 Marshall Harris

If I told you, Speaks, if I told you, hey, man, I met this girl, got her number, and we're hanging out, and we start talking and texting, and you follow up, hey, Marshall, what happened to that girl you were really excited about?

Chapter 3: What unanswered questions remain about the Bears' plans for 2024?

301.594 - 327.356 Unknown

And I don't think that there's the same level of collaboration that he kind of intimated. And I think that's what a lot of the interviews with the mayor have been, is it's been... It almost feels like a bit of like a campaign tour where he's talking about, well, Chicago deserves, and he went to that six or seven times inside of the interview that you guys, I thought, did a really good job with.

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327.636 - 353.565 Unknown

But that's his go-to, and it's an appeal. It's not a plan. It's an appeal to Chicagoans who have, when polled, Chicagoans have told you, No. Public money for private enterprise, we don't want to do that. The other thing that I find fascinating about his pitch, the concept to it, to the Bears, that I can poke a few holes in. One of them is...

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353.545 - 369.761 Unknown

Him talking about some of the things that he wants to do with whatever space that space is going to be. And that was not spelled out either on where this would be and how you would get around the federal law and the lawsuits that you would have to jump through.

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369.841 - 371.184 Leila Rahimi

The federal law.

0

371.445 - 373.309 Unknown

He said there's no violation there.

373.289 - 376.453 Leila Rahimi

Well, he said that they were talking, too.

376.493 - 381.42 Laurence Holmes

Because no violations have been pointed out yet because they're not anywhere on it. Because you haven't tried to do anything yet.

381.581 - 399.145 Unknown

They'll stop you dead in your tracks as soon as you get anywhere. 100%. And I've talked to friends of the park multiple times about this subject. But my issue is, and I think it's a lack of understanding, too, of some of the old relationships between the Bears and the city of Chicago.

399.125 - 421.493 Unknown

i understand the mayor is an advocate for cps he's a former cps teacher i respect that as a child of two cps teachers i understand him wanting to have space for young people to be about in some of these places It's part of the reason that the Bears wanted to leave Soldier Field in the first place. Is because Soldier Field doesn't belong to them.

Chapter 4: How does the discussion highlight the financial implications for the city?

431.584 - 458.057 Unknown

Cue the Rammstein. That's happened. Metallica in the pyro. Beyonce. All the other things. High school games. College games. Where then the Bears come back to Soldier Field and go... What are we playing on? It's little stuff like that that over the last 40 years the Bears have been upset with. They do want their space. And the payment part of it is a big part of it.

0

458.377 - 467.91 Unknown

The other part of it is control. They want control of the space that they're going to play in, and they definitely want a revenue split wherever it is that they go.

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467.89 - 481.776 Laurence Holmes

Man, we're going to play a chunk of you guys with the mayor, and then later on we'll probably play the whole thing so people can just hear him spinning in his wheels. Can I share a little news that just broke? It's not, I don't know if we know. No, read it. Give it to them.

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481.896 - 490.267 Unknown

Breaking News on the Score is sponsored by iDot. Speeding in a work zone is a no-win. Mind the signs. Avoid the fines.

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490.287 - 511.767 Laurence Holmes

So yesterday, Nick Castellanos sat shirtless in front of his locker and gave a long pregame in Philadelphia as a member of the Padres talking about his time in Philly and what went wrong. And then the Padres played the Phillies last night. And today, within 30 minutes ago, the man has been designated for assignment by the Padres in Philadelphia.

Chapter 5: What obstacles does the mayor face in his negotiations with the Bears?

511.787 - 515.43 Leila Rahimi

Was there something that he said? And that's a tie ball game.

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515.41 - 539.558 Laurence Holmes

That's what I'm trying to figure out. I don't believe that anything he said was too problematic, but he also isn't good anymore. But when you DFA Nick Castellanos, you're basically tempting nature to produce a tsunami. You're like tempting the world to produce some kind of disaster or somebody to say something homophobic or racist.

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539.658 - 547.67 Leila Rahimi

So I had written down the quote, and there's a deep drive to the left. I actually used it in a highlight on NBC5 a while back. I don't know that anybody realized it.

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547.69 - 549.332 Laurence Holmes

I don't think anybody in-house...

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549.312 - 564.34 Leila Rahimi

I know for sure. No, but I wrote it down and Ian Happ was with us that day at Brickhouse. This is a couple of years ago. And then I just pointed to that. He started laughing and I'm like, do you know about this? And he's like, oh yeah.

564.36 - 566.123 Laurence Holmes

Yeah. I think everybody does now.

566.264 - 567.867 Unknown

I mean, that was years ago.

567.927 - 570.291 Marshall Harris

Nick's wife knows about it. I can tell you that.

570.862 - 587.031 Unknown

yeah the way you said that was salacious well no because she's very public and vocal about stop saying it stop tweeting it stop referencing it well now and i was telling speech yesterday now it's a part of a very popular show it is right yeah

Chapter 6: How do public perceptions influence the Bears' stadium discussions?

626.926 - 633.575 Leila Rahimi

Do they have to platoon say it again? Do you remember that? Because I forgot about it and I was like, oh yeah.

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633.715 - 654.772 Laurence Holmes

How about the fact that thinking Alex Bregman might bunt actually has some legs today. Like, your three-hitter who's signed for 175 mil might have been better off being told to bunt with first and second and nobody out in a one-run game.

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655.073 - 659.761 Leila Rahimi

If the entire lineup doesn't want any part of a breaking ball... How do you break it up?

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659.781 - 671.199 Laurence Holmes

And that's what they're getting. That's what they're all getting. Yeah, I don't think you can have Bregman and Say anywhere near each other at this point. They're being pitched exactly the same way and dominated for the most part.

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671.299 - 672.701 Leila Rahimi

Okay, kids, separate.

673.142 - 693.307 Laurence Holmes

I want PCA in the three hole, but that's just me. PCA is a one or a two hitter these days. That's my point. And rightfully so. You get first and second on with nobody out in a one-run game, and 3-4-5 comes up empty. That is as deflating as any game that there's been so far this year. And this moment might be as deflating as any so far.

693.327 - 722.91 Unknown

I'm not sure how they... There's still 100 games left. There's a lot of time. You have to continue to say that, but... They're still not right offensively. And the thing is that I understand Bregman not bunting. Bregman's been hitting the ball. He just hasn't been hitting the ball for Slug. And he looked ass out. In that at bat, like he was so out in front and so off balance.

723.11 - 733.208 Unknown

And even when it felt like he knew what was coming, he couldn't stop himself from trying to swing at it. And that is the antithesis of Alex Bregman at bats.

733.288 - 750.583 Laurence Holmes

You have to make contact. There, you have to make contact to the right side. You can get guys going. I wouldn't have bunted, but maybe I hit and run, and that changes his mindset to at least every damn Sunday. And we'll discuss, but boy, was that ugly and deflating.

Chapter 7: What are the implications of the term sheets mentioned in the conversation?

835.769 - 838.073 Leila Rahimi

Yeah, I kind of feel like that might be the place for him.

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838.153 - 860.641 Laurence Holmes

So, yeah, go Pete, Nico, Bush. Sure, Carson. Anything you want. Move Alex down. See him pinch hit for Dansby. They're four most expensive dudes. Three of them didn't produce the knife. The other one had already been pinch hit for. But that defense, though. We'll talk to Carter Hawkins today at 425.

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860.661 - 863.666 Leila Rahimi

The guests continue on the score.

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863.806 - 867.393 Laurence Holmes

What exactly is it that your team is? What is your team right now?

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867.493 - 868.575 Leila Rahimi

What's the hitting approach?

868.595 - 878.209 Marshall Harris

What is the offensive identity? What's the identity? Fire Greg Walker. Whoa. Whoa.

878.53 - 882.016 Leila Rahimi

I'm just laughing at the facial expression from Lawrence right now.

882.036 - 882.837 Marshall Harris

I like the back pedal.

882.877 - 883.719 Leila Rahimi

The mic drop.

Chapter 8: What are the future prospects for the Bears and their stadium plans?

987.931 - 991.677 Laurence Holmes

And they're six and a half games up in the division. Look at that team ERA, though.

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991.697 - 994.222 Leila Rahimi

So I think they do the thing where they pitch and hit.

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994.242 - 999.491 Laurence Holmes

And Kyle Harrison is the latest. Say it right. Harrison is the latest.

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999.511 - 999.591 Leila Rahimi

Yes!

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999.571 - 1003.618 Laurence Holmes

Freaking gem from trade land for the Brewers. We'll have time.

1003.718 - 1009.93 Unknown

We'll have plenty of time. I was not thinking that the Brewers would be up this much in the first week of June.

1009.97 - 1013.816 Leila Rahimi

It's like 2026 is just 2025, but everything started earlier.

1013.837 - 1014.077 Unknown

Yep.

1014.538 - 1015.86 Leila Rahimi

In many ways in life.

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