The Chicago Bears appeared poised to leave not only Chicago but Illinois months ago, but the club’s direction has apparently changed as efforts are underway to keep the team in the state and perhaps even in Chicago.
Earlier this week, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and other NFL officials accompanied club officials, including owner George McCaskey and Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren, to a meeting with Illinois legislative leaders in Chicago.
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At the meeting, the group agreed to continue working to lay a path for authoring legislation that could result in the Bears agreeing to build their new stadium in Arlington Heights, Illinois or perhaps even Chicago.
CHICAGO POLITICIANS ARE DOING WINDY CITY POLITICIAN THINGS TO TRY TO KEEP THE BEARS IN TOWN
A general view of Chicago Bears helmets before the start of the game against Las Vegas Raiders at Allegiant Stadium on Sept. 28, 2025 in Paradise, Nevada. (Kiyoshi Mio/Imagn Images)
This comes after the Bears announced in August that their “sole focus” for undergoing such a project was in Indiana.
“The Chicago Bears remain committed to building a world-class stadium and mixed-use district for our fans, the Chicagoland community and the team,” the Bears said in a statement on Friday. “We continue to work collaboratively with local and state leaders in Indiana to advance our stadium development plans in Hammond, where we are finalizing due diligence details across two sites in the Wolf Lake area.”
Fine, but here comes the new stuff:
“At the same time, we appreciate the recent engagement from Illinois leadership to explore legislation which allows us to share our feedback. We expect productive dialogue with both leadership teams in the coming weeks.
Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, is photographed from Burnham Harbor in Chicago, Ill., on July 22, 2019. (Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)
“We have a responsibility and obligation to explore every option available to the club, and we look forward to developing a transformational project that will attract global events and deliver jobs and economic growth to all Chicagoland.”
Translation: The Bears said in late summer they were close to leaving Illinois after state lawmakers failed to offer the tax relief Indiana did.
But seeing the possibility of losing a legacy NFL franchise that is more than 100 years old to another state finally got Illinois legislators moving.
And so the Bears, who don’t really want to leave town, are promising to hear them out even if it means extending what has become a stadium relocation drama.
CHICAGO MAYOR MAKES STUNNING ADMISSION ABOUT ATTENDING BEARS GAME WHILE TRYING TO KEEP TEAM IN CITY
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell strides to the podium during Round One of the 2026 NFL Draft at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pa. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
The politicians in Illinois seem optimistic.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said this week legislation meant to keep the Bears in Illinois is coming.
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“Well, you know, we’ve been working with the Chicago Bears, and we’ve been working with the city of Arlington Heights, as well as the folks in the city of Chicago, on where the Bears might want to build a stadium, and what that legislation will look like,” Pritzker said. “I think it’ll get taken up in the Veto session in mid-November and early December.
“What I can do is make sure that there is a piece of legislation that would work for the Bears. And then it’s up to the Bears where they want to put their stadium, and we want to make sure that the opportunity for them is in the state of Illinois.”
Illinois lawmakers previously failed to provide the tax and infrastructure certainty the Bears sought, which is what caused the franchise to turn to Hammond, and on June 5, 2026, its board voted to “advance” the Indiana project, saying it would “transform the region.”
Kevin Warren, president and CEO of the Chicago Bears, watches pregame warmups before a preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Aug. 22, 2024, in Kansas City, Mo. (David Eulitt/Getty Images)
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In August, Warren declared, “Our sole focus at this point in time is working on a world-class stadium and mixed-use development in Hammond, Indiana,” while also saying Indiana had an “excellent deal” and that the team was working “to bring that to life.”
But the NFL doesn’t love that idea behind the scenes. And the Bears don’t necessarily want to do that either.
No one is going to admit that publicly. The public stance remains, as the statement Friday reads, that Hammond remains the site where due diligence is being finalized and is very much a possibility.
Until it is not.
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