Leaders "Hope" Arlington Heights Stadium Bill Ready for Veto Session
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell (R) and Chicago Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren before a Chicago Bears game in London in 2024. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
Governor JB Pritzker, National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell, top officials from the Chicago Bears, and legislative leaders met Thursday, but the meeting didn’t include one of the top Bears brass that has been at the center of the controversy over a new stadium, President & CEO Kevin Warren.
The entrance of Goodell, considered one of the most powerful people in professional sports, and Pat Ryan, the billionaire minority owner of the team, renews the belief by many in state government that the Bears are serious about remaining in Illinois, even though Warren and Bears owner George McCaskey have pointed to a potential site in Hammond, Indiana as the “sole focus” of the team’s stadium search.
The Governor's office released a statement Thursday afternoon confirming the meeting, which included Pritzker, Goodell, Ryan, House Speaker Chris Welch, House “megaprojects” bill sponsor Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), and Senate lead Sen. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago).
“The Governor’s Office has remained in conversation with the Bears about their plans in Illinois throughout the summer,” the Governor’s Office statement said. “The Governor and General Assembly leadership were glad to participate in a productive meeting focused on keeping the Bears in Illinois and protecting taxpayers.”
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy hinted the meeting focused on a renewed timeline for legislation to keep the team in Illinois.
“The NFL appreciated the opportunity to meet with Gov. Pritzker and legislative leaders today. Timely action is essential as the Bears work to find a long-term stadium solution for the club and their fans,” McCarthy said.
Sources said the “hope” is that the two sides will try to reach a deal on a bill to keep the Bears in Illinois, likely focused on the old Arlington Park site in suburban Arlington Heights, that would receive a vote in the fall veto session.
In a previously scheduled interview Thursday with Capitol News Illinois, Pritzker confirmed veto session is the goal to finalize legislation, saying action “should happen” when lawmakers return to Springfield November 17-19 and December 1-3.
Warren has been the face of the stadium debacle since 2023, as he was hired, in part, for his role in helping complete a stadium project when he worked for the Minnesota Vikings. Sources say Warren has been excluded from most stadium meetings in recent weeks. Ryan’s emergence as a key player adds an experienced, influential hand in dealing with Springfield.
Goodell’s rare move to fly to Chicago to meet about a stadium is seen by many insiders as a belief that the NFL wants the team to stay in the state and does not want the team to relocate Indiana. NFL owners must approve a team’s plan to move to a new stadium.
Sources say no specifics on potential legislation for the fall veto session were addressed in the meeting, but we could learn more “in the coming weeks.”
A spokesperson for Welch did not return a message about the meeting. Nor did Cunningham (D-Chicago). Buckner declined to comment.
