Rahimi, Harris & Grote Show - Rahimi will believe the Bears are moving to Indiana when she sees it

Episode Date: February 19, 2026

Leila Rahimi and Marshall Harris reacted to the breaking news that the Bears have taken a key step forward in their vision to build a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana. While it’s a big development in a long saga, Rahimi will believe the Bears are moving to Indiana when she sees it.

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And we got some breaking news on the Bears Stadium and the meeting that wasn't that is affecting everybody this morning in Springfield. It was scheduled by the Revenue and Finance Committee for 8 a.m. This is Rahimi Harrison and Grotie on 1043 The Score, by the way. We appreciate you joining us. And I just hope everybody's not wasting our time. Matt Hill just posted this on Twitter. He is the Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications to Governor Pritzker. Illinois was ready to move this bill forward.

He says at 9.11 a.m. after a productive three-hour meeting yesterday, the Bears leaders requested the ILGA paused the hearing to make further tweaks to the bill. This morning, we were surprised to see a statement lotting Indiana and ignoring Illinois. Why is this giving me WWE vibes? By golly, that's Kevin Warren's music.

And then he comes in with like, hey, by the way, we're going to go talk to Indiana instead of continuing this conversation with you guys because we want to let you know we're serious about leaving town if you don't give us exactly what we want. You're serious about leaving town because you did this all out of order and at this point, your dog and pony show either needs to be real or it needs to stop wasting time and therefore money because you've got an empty plot of land in Arlington Heights that has been sitting vacant for three years and you're not a real estate investment trust. So what do you want to do here? You decided that you wanted to cancel this.

meeting bears that according to the state information that we get that according to governor pritzker's office so what's your plan now do you have a statement from the bears talking about this marshal do we what's the latest from the bears what are they saying right now as they decide to cancel this meeting well yes we do have a statement from the bears that you know you can't help but correlate it to the cancellation of said meeting that you just described and the fact that it was the Bears who called off the meeting that was supposed to take place today. And here's what the statement says.

We are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana. We appreciate the leadership shown by Governor Braun, Speaker Hustin, Senator Mischler, and the members of the Indiana General Assembly in establishing this critical framework and path forward to deliver a premier venue for all of Chicagoland and a destination for Bears fans and visitors from across the globe. We value our partnership and look forward to continuing to build our working relationship together. You know what? That statement did not say, Lela. It did not say we are putting shovels on the ground on fill in the blank date.

There it is. That's what we're still trying to figure out. Additionally, Hammond, as Mark Grotty reported earlier in the week on Tuesday seemed to be what was in play. We know Portage had a pitch that involved private equity financing a Bears stadium. Hammond is ready to partner with the Chicago Bears is what the mayor said that telling your station ABC 7 and that we've had excellent conversations with the Bears and we are forging a relationship that would be a foundation for a public private partnership. Which AKA means are they getting the money that they can't get from the state after buying the land and not getting what they wanted? It's getting the public money and getting the private benefit of the profits after it's all said done. Public pays, bears profit. And then the community and surrounding area, and I guess the state of Indiana at large, gets the benefit of the extra commerce that is brought with a stadium. That's the way that this has been done in the past. And it looks like that's the way the bears are leaning towards doing this in the future. And certainly it felt like that wasn't going to fly in Illinois.

And the statement that you saw is from Adam Hogue tweeted that earlier today. And Adam Hogue will be on with us at 11 o'clock this morning. Again, we ask the question, who pays, who loses, who benefits. So what's next? Well, let's start with this question, Leila. When you talk about what's next, the first question is, do you believe the bears are done with trying to build a stadium in Illinois? I think the answer is no.

until they sell the land and you said it oh they can just sell the land I don't think it's that simple necessarily but I want to say this until they sell that land I'll believe it when I see it until you have a deal in place

until there's a bill outlining how much the state of Indiana wants to put up for your stadium then we still are all just waiting and while you put on this theater we're all spending time and effort on this and I just want to

wonder how much and at what cost? Well, the bigger issue for me is if this is, this feels like fourth quarter, Caleb Williams time. This feels like almost two-minute warning. Understanding when the Indiana legislators are shut down. That's next week at last count, right? Thursday, a week from today. Yeah, the 27th, right?

Yes. So because of that, you understand that they are up against the clock in Indiana. And this announcement, because you could have done this without making. a public statement, right? Oh, they needed to. And then making the public statement, that puts the pressure now in Illinois, like, do you have anything else for us? Because if you don't, we're going to Indiana.

Now, Illinois could call their bluff, but at this point, I don't think it's a bluff, Leila. I think they would build a stadium in northwest Indiana. I like this text from A4-7. I don't know who you are. Layla, you've been shutting me for months about the use of the word leverage because they are not a read. I don't know you. This isn't personal.

I've been shutting a concept, because until they sell the other land, it's not really leverage. They're doing all of this in reverse because they already bought the land. And just like you, who does not have property tax certainty, neither do they. And we're the bears isn't a good enough excuse. I hope you're serious this time, for real, for real. I need to see some numbers. I need to see more than just diplomacy at this point. If you really want to actually build a stadium there,

I understand that certain things have to happen first. But for example, the Bears purchased Arlington Heights. We know how much money they paid. We know how much money they paid in earnest. So how much money is the state willing to put up? One of the questions I want to ask the governor, Pat Quinn, who's joining us at 1025, is what? What is the delta between what the bears can afford to put up for a stadium and what the NFL can afford versus what the state of Indiana is willing to give them?

And make no mistake, just because the bears can't afford it, if you can find $5 off the street for free, you're probably going to do it. And in this case, the bears are also trying to do the same. I understand the sentimental value that the bears hold for all of their fans and the history of the bears in Chicago. go. I'm telling you this just to set up this. If the bears can get a better financial deal, they're probably going to take it. The real question here, Leila, isn't necessarily, okay, how much money can we save by moving to Indiana? It's how much money are you willing to pay to stay in Arlington Heights? I feel like at this point we've established this. It's going to be more expensive for the bears to stay in Arlington Heights as opposed to move to Indiana. But what is the number

for the bears through their purview that they're willing to say we save this much money and that justifies the move to Indiana. That's it. This episode is brought to you by progressive insurance. What if comparing car insurance rates was as easy as putting on your favorite podcast?

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who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Comparison rates not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy. I'm done carrying around bulky drinks. And I'm definitely done cleaning melted candy out of my pockets. So yeah, I traded them both in for fruity rainbow five-hour energy shots. These little guys are as pocket-sized as any candy. But instead of a sugar crash, you get a zero-sugar caffeine boost. Candy can't even compare at this point. Fruity rainbow five-hour energy shots treat your taste buds to an explosion of fruity flavor.

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Visit Wayfair.com or download the Wayfair app. Wayfair, every style, every home. It's kind of like the state of Illinois asking the bears to cover the cost for the soldier field renovations. What is the beneficial cost where buying and selling Arlington Heights will be in their favor? And you and I would go and try to get the best deal possible if we were responsible for our company.

If we're responsible for our house, we try to get the best deal possible. I understand that part of it. But what we do is we do our due diligence, and that's what makes us so incredibly frustrating. I wish I could compare it to a game, except halftime happened before the first quarter. So this isn't that.

This is what is supposed to happen. All of this that I talked about, and I said it last week, all of this is supposed to happen before you buy the land, before you strike the deals. Now, two things on that. It is supposed to be people and municipalities competing for what they can offer you in these cases. You're absolutely right about the out-of-order thing.

But here's the thing. They did that before Kevin Warren came into the picture. And now Kevin Warren is in like this cleanup mode. So remember, first he was like, let's just keep it where it is. Let's just build by Soldier Field. Obviously, that hit a very hard brick wall and he is not the Kool-Aid man so he could not break through. now it's okay what are the other sites i feel like we we've exhausted pretty much we've exhausted so much that now i was in the picture that's how much everybody thinks they've got a shot to lure the bears to

them that's where we are i appreciate the sense of humor that iowa had toward this i appreciate iowa pointing out the absurdity in through procedure and gracefulness i thought that that was fantastic uh because i i certainly giggled what i saw that so i thought that that was great You know what I just realized is, you know me. I think it's fine that stadiums are built in the suburbs. It's fantastic when they're in the city. I want to let you know that straight. Like there's nothing better than being able to relatively easily go to a game in the city.

That is my opinion. And also having been to many games in the suburbs of metropolitan areas where I lived. So I do want to say, though, I've joked about the concept of it not being that dramatic when the Bears would move to theoretically another state. However, how's that fight song going to go? Your pride and joy of Illinois? Are you? I mean, I guess if they're going to stay...

Where are you bearing down? Hall is relatively new. I mean, they're not moving the organization. They're just going to play in Indiana 10 times a year. Or what, up to, let's see, if they have nine home games and they have two preseason, that's 11. If they host two games as the number one seat, up to 13 times a year they'll play in that stadium.

See, now we've just gotten to the extreme of the mental gymnastics. Because like 269 says, you have to get over the fact that bears own the land in Arlington Heights and it doesn't matter. It absolutely matters. They bought that land with the designed purpose for a stadium. What they didn't do was the due diligence prior because you wanted a deal done before that on what the land was that you purchased because that's when you actually had the leverage. Don't do this. Don't mental gymnastics your way out of the tree.

truth. Follow the money. Where is the most money right now? It still sits on a vacant lot where Arlington Park used to be. I understand what you're saying and I don't totally disagree with you. It matters, but I don't think it matters as much as you think it matters. And here's why. The land costs, what, $200 million? No, it was more than that. It was more than $200 million? Let's see. Give me the tab. But whatever the tab is, this stadium project is going to cost a lot more than just that land. And so it's a negligible price if they can sell the land. Yeah, 197.2. But that's without your taxes and your freight costs, so to speak. That's fine. But what I'm saying is that's still a very small percentage compared to what the actual total price of the project is going to cost.

$197.2 million is a drop in the bucket compared to $5 billion, which they cannot meet. Yeah, it's not a, I wouldn't even say it's a drop in the bucket. I understand, but I think they could sell the land. The land can be sold. The land is not like this albatross hanging around their necks. They can sell the land. Even if they... And even if they lose... Well, there's no need to right now. They don't have a deal done. If they get a deal done in Indiana, they will sell the land, unless they want to become real estate investors. Which is what they're doing right now. Trying to. And no, this isn't personal. This is business. Who said it was personal? Everybody. Like in our responses. But that's what we need you to understand.

I see that phone line lighten up. I know. But first and foremost, we're working. going to get to somebody who can let us in on the procedure in the discussion and being the former governor of the state, what questions he has. So let's get a real pro on the phone. Pat Quinn will join us next on Rahimi Harrison Grotie. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. What if comparing car insurance rates was as easy as putting on your favorite podcast? With Progressive, it is. Just visit the Progressive website to quote with all the coverages you want. You'll see Progressive's direct rate, then their tool will provide office. options from other companies so you can compare.

All you need to do is choose the rate and coverage you like. Quote today at progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. Comparison rates not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you buy. I'm done carrying around bulky drinks. And I'm definitely done cleaning melted candy out of my pockets. So yeah, I traded them both in for fruity rainbow five-hour energy.

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