NFL commissioner, Bears execs met with Illinois legislators about stadium

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell joined Bears chairman George McCaskey and president/CEO Kevin Warren in a meeting with Illinois legislators this week, a source confirmed, leaving open future discussions about a stadium site in either Chicago or the suburbs.

The Bears said in a statement Friday they “appreciate the recent engagement from Illinois leadership to explore legislation, which has allowed us to share our feedback.”

The Bears’ Illinois flirtation is in advance of the fall veto session, which begins Nov. 17 in Springfield. No deal can happen until then — and it’s unclear whether the Bears, even with their red-hot status on the field, would be atop of legislative priority list. The Bears’ stadium search has dragged on for five-and-a-half years.

Goodell met with Illinois politicians in August, too, and later said that “we want to make sure that Arlington Heights and Illinois have an opportunity, and Indiana as well, to put their best foot forward.” A month later, he joined Gov. JB Prtizker and Bears minority owner Pat Ryan in another meeting with legislators. The commissioner would not have been involved in such discussions unless the Bears were interested in remaining in Illinois.

The Bears also said Friday they’ll continue to work with Indiana leaders and are finalizing the details of two different sites in the Wolf Lake area of Hammond, for which they’ve pledged $2 billion. The team’s board of directors voted in June to move forward with those plans, though no one, even in that moment, ruled out building in Arlington Heights, where the Bears own a 326-acre property. Legislation to lower the Bears’ Arlington Heights property taxes flopped in the legislature’s spring sessions.

“We expect productive dialogue with both leadership teams in the coming weeks,” the Bears' statement read.  “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 of Chicagoland.”