Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, speaks at a news conference at the Illinois Capitol in May 2023. (Capitol News Illinois file photo by Jerry Nowicki)
Article Summary
- Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said the Chicago Bears’ request for new money for a stadium is “insensitive” as lawmakers are trying to make life more affordable for Illinoisians.
- The team is seeking more than $800 million in infrastructure money as well as property tax relief to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights.
- Bears President Kevin Warren threatened to pursue a stadium in Indiana if Illinois lawmakers don’t lend a hand.
- Welch said state lawmakers will be focused on cost-of-living issues when they return to Springfield later this month.
This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.
Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch said he is hopeful about the Chicago Bears’ prospects of victory over the Green By Packers in their playoff game on Saturday.
But he likely didn’t instill any hope in team officials who are seeking state resources to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights.
“When folks say what’s your priority going into the legislative session, we’re trying to bring down the cost of living,” Welch said at a City Club of Chicago event on Tuesday. “Talking about a brand new Bears stadium when this one’s not even 25 years old, that’s insensitive to what real people are going through right now.”
Welch was addressing questions about the Bears’ request for property tax breaks and more than $800 million in state support for infrastructure upgrades.
Bears president Kevin Warren claimed in a letter to fans last month that the team, which Forbes valued at $8.2 billion, was “told directly by State leadership, our project will not be a priority in 2026.” Welch, a Democrat from west suburban Hillside, did not dispute the claim.
The Bears’ current home, Chicago Park District-owned Soldier Field, was rebuilt with state money in 2002. Warren and the Bears say their new project should be a priority for state lawmakers seeking to create jobs and build the state’s economy.
Gov. JB Pritzker has said he is open to allocating state funds for infrastructure upgrades to accommodate crowds near the former Arlington Park race course, the team-owned potential development site. But he’s so far declined to support direct tax breaks or financial aid for team facilities.
After being rebuffed by the General Assembly for several years, Warren threatened to explore building the stadium in northwest Indiana. That excited Indiana Republican Gov. Mike Braun, who said he will work with the team.
Some suburban Democrats support helping the Bears relocate to Arlington Heights, but the team faces a math problem in the legislature. Twenty-eight of the 78 House Democrats live in Chicago and several of them have expressed opposition to the team moving out of the city. Welch has adopted a rule for the House Democratic caucus that at least 60 Democrats must support a bill to allow it to move forward.
Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, isn’t prioritizing the Bears in the Senate either.
“President Harmon agrees that we need to stay focused on issues like education and health care and everyday affordability — the things people care about — especially given the economic uncertainties being thrown at us by Washington,” Harmon spokesperson John Patterson said in an email.
Budget situation
Another hindrance for the Bears is the state budget. Pritzker told lawmakers last year during his annual budget address there was little room for new spending and any lawmaker that wanted money for a new program would have to come up with a corresponding cut.
The fiscal year 2026 budget ultimately increased spending in most areas by less than 1% from the previous year.
State lawmakers will return to Springfield next week to begin the spring legislative session, and the budget picture remains murky. The governor’s budget office announced in the fall that the state was on track to run a $2.2 billion deficit in fiscal year 2027, which begins on July 1.
Read more: Illinois’ budget on track for deficit as new federal policies create challenges
Amid that landscape, Welch said members of his caucus are not hearing from their constituents about the Bears.
“They’re hearing people talk about the cost of prescription drugs, about premiums of their health insurance going up, grocery prices, rent; they’re talking about cost of living,” Welch said. “I don’t know anyone that has knocked on a door and someone has said anything about the Chicago Bears.”
No state leader, including Welch on Tuesday, has explicitly ruled out addressing the Bears’ concerns this year. But the speaker, who is entering his sixth year leading the House, said this session will be all about “affordability.”
Other lawmakers who have chastised the Bears for seeking public money said the state should have other priorities such as increasing funding for public education and social services.
New budget report
While there’s still six months to go in the fiscal year, a report published Tuesday by the independent Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability painted a rosier picture of state finances, at least in the short-term. It found state revenue is up nearly 5%, or $1.2 billion, through the first six months of FY26 compared to the same period in FY25.
That includes sales tax revenue up 1%, an indicator of consumer confidence in the economy.
Pritzker is scheduled to present his FY27 budget proposal on Feb. 18, which will include new estimates from his office about revenue projects for the current year and a plan to close next year’s projected deficit.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
