We react to Brandon Johnson's comments about trying to keep Bears in the city
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is Rahimi Harrison-Grote on 104.3 The Score. That is the Iceman, Paul Wall. Not to be confused with the Iceman, Caleb Williams. We had to change the timing of our last hour when it came to commercials with the mayor coming on. So thank you for joining us and for listening. As you can tell, we had to try to cut in where we could to ask questions. But the takeaways are big. Marshall, I think... What you nailed down with the timing is as significant as anything else. There were no conversations, according to Brandon Johnson, that had happened in the month of May, that they happened in April. That was the latest communication that he had had with the Bears. That's important when it comes to the timing.
I asked about the Chicago. caucus and the city's role when it came to the pilot bill failing he talked about the second bill that occurred that was later that they tried to draft in the house the uh the senate rather in the state house that failed we understand that this is a modification of the 2024 pitch which originally asked for 1.5 billion dollars in infrastructure and a billion dollars in borrowing he said this plan is 72 financed by the bears 28 of that i'm assuming when he said the rest would be the ia the Illinois Sport Facility Authority. So that's the existing taxing entity that works right now to service the debt on the Soldier Field renovations from 2003. And that is indeed a hotel tax, but that means it's a tax.
So that's where we're at with this right now.
not only is it a tax, but when you come short of what you need to pay off with that tax, the hook then becomes that of the Chicago taxpayers. And that's one of the points that he didn't brush off necessarily, but he went on to compare it to other things costing more.
Here's another important note, and I know our phone lines are lit up like a Christmas tree, 312-644-6767, but that he said April for the Conversations. The NFL meeting regarding Commissioner Goodell, where reporters said that Arlington Heights and Hammond were the only options, happened in late May. So when you consider that part of it, that timing is important in all of this. It was before the state adjourned in the legislative session, but it was also after the April conversations.
Layla, the quickest relatable thing I can tell you on that is that if you're in conversation with someone via text, And they stopped texting you. You can't go back a month later and claim, oh, well, we had ongoing conversations. Brandon Johnson led us to believe that there were ongoing conversations a month off. And then, as you said, during that gap, you find out that someone else has been targeted for two other spots and you're not one of them. That tells you you have been left in the dust.
What did Brandon Johnson say about the Bears' negotiations?
Well,
I mean, until the Bears speak, we have no clear answers on this. Now, according to our friend David Haw of The Morning Show, and if you missed his interview with the Hammond mayor, Hammond and Nienna, this morning, you should go back and listen on the Rewind feature on our Odyssey app. David Haw said that Ben Johnson was not asked about the stadium. Ben Johnson was marked safe from stadium questions at Alice Hall.
Lucky Ben Johnson.
But in the meantime, the only people who can clarify this information for us, the ones who want our help, aren't talking.
But the timeline that is most important here in terms of the discussion of a possibility of Chicago being back in the mix, they were in the mix until the end of April because, according to Mayor Brandon Johnson, they were negotiating a term sheet. But since then, since that stopped happening, the back and forth, whatever negotiations were taking place, the Bears and the NFL have come out and said, Only two viable finalists here, him in Indiana and Arlington Heights. And that's why I understand what the mayor is campaigning for as a viable site on the lakefront. But that does not match what the Bears or anybody else has told us.
All right, let's get to our phones. 312-644-6767. Naturally, our software needs to be rebooted.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–2:54
2
What did Brandon Johnson say about the Bears' negotiations?
2:54–7:23
3
How does the proposed funding structure affect Chicago taxpayers?
7:23–10:13
4
What are the implications of the failed pilot bill for the Bears?
10:13–14:21
5
What do fans think about the Bears' potential move?
14:21–18:19
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from Rahimi & Grote Show
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