Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Gov. JB Pritzker hopes stadium talks with Bears will get 'back on track'

Episode Date: February 20, 2026

Leila Rahimi, Marshall Harris and Mark Grote listened and reacted to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s latest comments about conversations with the Bears about building a new stadium in Arlington Heights. Can the sides get back on track in negotiations?

The governor told us that, indeed, there have been conversations back and forth at sort of a high staff level between the Bears and the Governor's people. And a lot of those conversations have been apparently sort of walking back that statement that the governor has talked about. He first mentioned it yesterday when he was with reporters down in Collinsville. The statement from the Bears that talked about how the proposal that passed the House Committee yesterday, Today setting up the stadium authority was like the most significant development in their search for a new stadium. And they were committing to finish and due diligence. That was Jeff Buckholtz giving us the latest. He is the WBBM News Radio political editor.

And he was at Oak Park River Forest High School, OPRF. And that is where he caught up with Governor J.B. Pritzker. Apparently there was a cell phones and schools campaign that was going on. And guess what? Jeff brought a cell phone in school for us. What? My dad went to Oak Park High School. They did not have cell phones then, though, amazingly.

Oh, yeah, they didn't have cell phones when your dad was in high school. Yeah, that amazing. My 84-year-old did not have cell phones. This is Rahimi Harrison Grotie on 104-3, The Score. And J.B. Pritzker speaking today after the dust settled. And, for example, we heard from Indiana Governor Mike Braun yesterday for over 20 minutes on the afternoon show. He gave us his time there.

We also had the statement from the Bears. It's good to get more clarity on this because as we understand, now the meeting that the bears were supposed to have that really started our chaotic roller coaster yesterday with the Illinois state legislature was that the bears were supposed to meet yesterday morning. And then the meeting got postponed. At that point, we thought it was canceled. We understand now, thanks to the Daily Herald, it is back on the books. And so J.B. Pritzker is in a little bit different of a place to talk about it, given that that seemed to be a surprise to them. quotes from Ben Zelensky, who is also at this. He reports for the Capitol Matters.

He's a Capitol News, Illinois, said this. These are complicated matters, and sometimes things, you know, are unintended that happen. So I'm hopeful that everything will be able to get back on track, Pritzker said this morning. He also wants some clarity from the bears about their objective. Don't we all? Quote, honestly, I think the bears need to make their intentions known. Those intentions could be, you know, that they want to continue to talk to both states, but I think they need to clarify that.

I don't know that that needs clarification. Like, read the room. How can you not be in a position right now where you don't understand that the bears are playing both sides? I think it's that he wants the bears to tell him and the state of Illinois that. What's next by the state? And I think what is now out there, and I've reported it, is that while the bears are doing there, as it says, due diligence, which was a great gerryangelo word, by the way, the former general manager of the Chicago Bears at a different

time and a Super Bowl time for the Bears. While they're doing their due diligence, now Illinois has their chance now to put something together that would please the bears more. That's what's going. Right or wrong, that's what's going on. Which did happen. And let's keep in mind what the bear statement has been. This is the last comment that we got from the Bears, it was yesterday morning regarding the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority Authorization Bill, and it says, quote, the passage of state bill, Senate Bill 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward on our stadium planning efforts to date, the Bears said in a statement, we are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary.

Say it with me now. Due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana. Now, that bill did pass. That's why Governor Braun was on in part to tell us what the state of Indiana's plans are regarding the bears. And as we understand, there are going to be some new taxes with that. This is according to Indiana Capital Chronicle. Some of the taxes would include a variety of local taxes.

For example, a 1% food and beverage tax in Porter and Lake counties. Hammond would adopt a 12% admissions tax for stadium events. Lake County could double its existing 5% hotel tax. A professional sport development area would also be established and state and local taxes collected in that zone would be diverted to cover project costs. Another part of the bill that they note is it requires the Indiana Sports Corporation beginning July 21st, 2027, to ensure that 20% of the money the entity receives each biennium be used for events supported by the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority, the Indiana Sports Corporation has long focused on attracting major athletic events to Indianapolis.

So that's a final four, for example, which we've seen in Indianapolis. I don't know that the combine counts as part of that, but I would think it would be major events like a Super Bowl, et cetera. Yeah, I think the combine does count. I think anything that brings people from all over the country and makes your state a focal point for an industry, right? Well, the thing about the combine is it's traditionally been there, so that's why I didn't know if that was included. Well, the reason I said it the way I did is because the NFL has been known to have something somewhere and then move it because they think it's for the betterment in the league. But that combine has been steady. Like the draft.

Yeah. The draft is a great example of that. And there are people from everywhere walking around on their nifty little uniforms all over the place. So it's called. Have you guys been to a combine before? I've only been to one combine. I was like, ah, the movement of a combine. It's funny because everybody, oh, there's the chiefs people walking around.

Oh, there's the Texans people. Oh, there's the Bears people. and everybody kind of thinks they're better than the next person. It's quite, quite an ordeal. Hold on. Everybody thinks they're better than the next person. Maybe that's not the right way to put it. Everybody walks with their own packs of people,

and you see different packs of teams walking past each other. And there's just, you could tell, like, certain groups, like the Kansas City people, like for years, they hold their chin up a little bit higher than the rest of the people that are there. It gives high school clipped vibes the time I was there. Thank you. You said it better than I did. Instead of like a hot girl walk, it's a haughty walk.

Yeah. Watch us. Like, look at us. We're the Philadelphia Eagles people with our Eagles polos on and our jumpsuits. There's a lot of quarter zips sounds like. A lot of quarter zips. A festival of quarter zips. Also reminiscent of Anchorman in the alley.

The groups get together. Like you feel like a fight could break out. Except for when everybody then goes out drinking and gets wasted together. That's what goes on. Like because people that are going to this, it's their opportunity to get away from their families, get away from their children. You're still a state secrets right now. I'm telling you.

And just go, I'm not naming names. I'm just saying that that's the opportunity. I imagine there's a lot of smiling and pointing that goes along as well in these passing by. Oh, yeah. Or like, hey, can I talk to you? And you just keep it moving. I'll catch you later. Oh, great seeing you.

There is a choose your own adventure feel to it as well because there's just so much going on. with people at the athletes at the podiums, the coaches at the podiums, the GMs off to the side, players that are there to get just to hang out and make connections with people that you could talk to. So it's quite a thing. I'm sorry we got into the combine. No, but I actually think that like if we, this is our presentation to the Indiana State Legislature, we're like, we present the Combine. Mark Grody with Combine information.

There's a lot of people in quarter zips. Everybody's pointing and smiling at each other, yada, yada. And they're getting drunk at night. We think it's a major sporting event. Does it qualify under the stipulation of the bill? Okay, thanks for your information. I saw it as a much more aggressive version of the baseball's winter meetings. I've never been to the baseball winter meetings, so I can't relate.

Yeah, I've been to that, and it's kind of the same, because it has a convention feel to it. Convention feel like you are coming up with the right ways to describe things right now, Marshall. I've got to tell you. Occasionally, you know. You have Dictionary.com open from the last hour. Mr. Molify. Thesaurus.com now is I try to find different ways to tell you guys that the Bears. No, not today, Satan.

We're not going to discredit looking up information just to make sure we've got it right. I'm not discrediting it. You're not Satan. I always go to DJ booth.net, by the way. You also went to Illinois mushroom.com to make sure people were eating the right mushrooms. Ray, you are diligence. But for those of us who may have forgotten, looking up information is always a good thing. It is.

That's right. The truth. The truth is important. Yeah. So I do want to address, I think, trying to figure out what those events are. how the money gets split up, regardless of what we are talking about, whether it's in Illinois or Indiana is a good thing. But if you wanted to find out where I got that information,

it is from Indiana Capital Chronicle. It is by Nikki Kelly, and it came out yesterday at 4 o'clock. But it illustrated a little bit more about the tax setup, because the AI box on the search is not going to get you everything that you need. This had a lot more information, and it was clear. And actually, there are people who oppose the bill. Would you like to hear that quote? Yeah.

Americans for prosperity. It's a very, very broadly titled group. That is an advocacy group supporting limited government and fiscal conservatism testified as neutral on the bill. Quote, the biggest thing we want to be on the record for is essentially taxpayers. Please give them the most consideration possible and where and when we can have elected officials. Please have them make those decisions, said Graham Renbarger and Indiana organizer. Graham Renbarger!

And again, I say, well, if you want to take the power out of the government's hand on this, put it in your own and send it to a ballot where everybody votes. Power to the people. It's inefficient is what happens. Like a lot of times, you know, then I believe people should be voting for everything all the time. All the people. Sorry, I was late with that. Yeah, no, but you know what I'm saying.

Like, if it matters to the residents of Indiana, then the Indiana residents should all be voting on it. That's how I feel. But I know that that's not how a lot of things get done. But I'm not here to be efficient. I never said I was. What are you here for? Everything else. Okay.

I like that. I would rather take a lot of time to figure out the best answer than no time to not figure out the best answer. I think it's going to be a while before we figure out the best answer to this particular quandary, if you will. You mean the quandary in general, the stadium? Yeah. You mentioned Choose Your Own Adventure, which some of my favorite books as a kid, by the way, the Choose Your Own Adventure series. That's the Combine.

the whole combine is Choose Your Own Adventure, but go ahead. I feel like the Bears are turning more pages and they're exhausting different routes within the book to figure out if they can find the ending that they're looking for. Because anyone who's ever read a Choose Your Own Adventure book, you want the best possibly ending for yourself. Like you want to feel like, I found the best ending in this book. You know?

You don't want to turn to the first page when you get your first option and then the story's over. That stinks. You don't feel like you really get it. There are already a few options down the road with the way this is gone with Indiana and Illinois. But you want the most favorable outcome, a storybook ending, if you will, if you're the Bears. Well, we want to know what the, we want to know what all the outcomes are too. Like, that's the point of this is, hey, everybody, I've heard a lot about the Bears setting up for $2 billion that they want to put into the stadium.

But everything I've read says it's at least five. So where is the other money coming from? Anyone? That's on the Illinois side. Now, Indiana, they're telling you where it's going to come from. I think the NFL is ready to kick in as part of a loan. They've done this before for stadiums. And I don't think that would cover $3 billion.

So where's the rest of it coming from? What kind of private financiers do you have involved in said, I guess not endowment, but just investment. Partnership, right? Yeah, well, or partnership. And how partnered up are you going to be on those profits on the back end? Well, and for example, with Portage, you know, the mayor said that they had private equity be a partner.

You know, that was spoken outright. That was something that they let everybody know in advance, and that was a subsidiary of J.P. Morgan Chase. So that was something that was, like, said up front as part of their pitch to the Bears. J.P. Morgan Chase Stadium? There's another thing once the stadium is built. Sure. Also.

Soldier Field Northwest. No, that's not happening. Don't because Soldier Field will still be here. It will be. No, I'm just saying the name right. naming rights of a new stadium will be for sale. Oh, yeah, that's the next thing. They will be, like, eight steps behind or ahead of myself right now.

It will cost you. And 630 says voters can vote on referendums for schools. We should have a say in these situations, too, meaning the bear stadium. And you absolutely should. It's just things like the Kansas City Chiefs vote happens in Missouri, where they absolutely crush that initiative. And then Kansas is like, hey, we won't take it to a ballot, but we'll give you all this money. And the Chiefs are like, cool.

Let's call it what it is. the bears don't want that public smoke. They don't want anything going to a ballot. We have a very biased audience. You know, that's it. Like, we love the bears who talk about them for four hours every day. But still, at the same time, like, if we're being reasonable and pragmatic, the bears have everything to lose if this goes to a ballot,

because then it would be in Indiana. And there would be no more options for Arlington Heights. Because the bears aren't getting public votes in their favor on the scale that they would need to to get the public funding that would be on the ballot. It's just not happening. So the latest, I think the other part that Jeff mentioned that I think is valid guys is just, does the tone of the Indiana response by the Bears need to be reset after all of this?

Now that you've gotten a new meeting on the schedule, now that there's been a lot of clarification, for example, the Hammond May are coming out and saying there's not a specific site that has been set yet. Do the Bears need to appease their own tone that they took with? with Indiana because it sounds like those are two different things as to what was said earlier and what is happening now. A peas or mollify? Great question, Marshall. Okay, mollified field is going to be the new name, says 773.

I love that, mollify field. What do you think, Mark? To... Just the question of like, do the bears need to, do they need to clarify what they said yesterday? Because it sounds like it's a little bit different than what we had previously. I think it kind of has been clarified that. You mean the part where... It's been clarified by others, but it hasn't been clarified as much by the bears.

Yeah, well, they probably do. Yeah, they probably do. And hopefully that will be because, as Pritzker said yesterday, we don't know why they were doing what they were doing, although the bears, you know, said that it was a pause in all of this, which means that it will continue. But if you're the bears, yeah, go ahead. Didn't they clarify to the only party that matters,

and that's to Governor Pritzker in the state of Illinois? Didn't they tell the actual, because they postponed? We are also the party that matters. I don't think we matter in the bear's eyes. Who's 880 million is it? It's not JB's. I think we elect legislators who represent us and in the bear's eyes, again, this is why they want to take it to a public ballot.

They're like, we don't have to deal with the people. We just have to deal with the people who represent the people and get what we want. Right. I mean, it's voting out of things. Would you like money taken out of your pocket or not? Really is what it comes down to. People are not going to vote yes on that, except for, well, It would be a significant amount of people, too, who would allow for it just because of bearsness,

but most people will look at their pocketbooks. It really depends on the municipality. Like in Dallas, the electorate there, whenever there was a chance that Cowboys Stadium was not going to be in Arlington, but it was going to be in the actual city of Dallas, they would have voted for it. Like, it just, it really depends on who's voting. And that's why I think it's so important to bring up. I have hit a wall. I have hit a bear state.

stadium wall. Well, luckily for you, you hit the wall at the exact right time, Mark Rodi. It's almost like you have an internal clock. Are you ready to not hit a wall about comes baseball? Yes, tell me. Tell me, Leila. Well, our friend Bruce Levine, the birthday boy himself. We'll join us letting us know what's going on ahead of this spring training opener next.