The Bears have no leverage with Pritzker, since the Bears would never leave the state. It doesn't really matter to JB whether they're in Chicago or Arlington Heights.

We lose a lot of rights when we look the other way when it doesn't affect our lives or it isn't a cause we agree with.

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

Hate to tell ya this "Amigo", but that is sort of the essence of how life works.

It's more fun to be a victim

There will never be an effective vaccine. I'll never get one anyway.

The planning on this is ridiculous:

1) After the White Sox blowback, why do the Bears think there is any appetite from taxpayers to help build this project?

2) It took the Cubs months and months to get approval on a stupid little Coke sign on the rooftop across the street. Does Kevin Warren realize every single thing he wants to do is going to be a pain in the butt because of Friends of the Park? If he had any political skills he would be negotiating with Arlington Heights on the property tax bill, not doing a complete 180 and going back to Chicago.

3) They seriously think they can play at Soldier Field while while construction is going on? Give me a break. That's going to be a disaster.

This organization continues to be a joke.

"We did not hear anything at the Bears news conference that could not take place at another Chicago location. We have too many questions to make any decision about the value of these plans. We encourage the Bears and the administration to act with 'honor, integrity, transparency, wisdom and to be forward thinking and collaborative' and not repeat past mistakes," the group's statement read.

Love,
Friends of the Park

"We did not hear anything at the Bears news conference that could not take place at another Chicago location. We have too many questions to make any decision about the value of these plans. We encourage the Bears and the administration to act with 'honor, integrity, transparency, wisdom and to be forward thinking and collaborative' and not repeat past mistakes," the group's statement read.

Love,
Friends of the Park

It sounds like they need some encouragement. Have someone show up and sit in the pew next to granny and whisper some encouraging words in her ear. Share a picture of a restaurant a block from where a beloved sister or brother lives. You can't allow these fuckers to dictate anything.

It will be satisfying when they are told "No one cares what you think". Lots of wide open land on the lake in Wisconsin and Michigan. Move there. City life isn't for you.

Hate to tell ya this "Amigo", but that is sort of the essence of how life works.

The problem is the Friends of the Park aren’t idiots but Bears management is.

A lot of people who make decisions care what those nerds think.

Is that really true though? They won the war against the Lucas Museum by being annoying enough that he gave up and moved it to California where it made more sense to put it anyways. The politicians all seemed to be all for it being placed on the parking lot in Chicago.

it's time you all are hauled out to the public square and shot in the face

So the mayor of Arlington Heights was on the morning show and basically said everything changed when Kevin Warren was hired. So are you telling me the McCaskey family isn't even running the show here? What's going on? WAKE UP, GEORGE!

it's time you all are hauled out to the public square and shot in the face

The Bears already outmaneuvered them though. They are "replacing" a building that already exists and adding significantly more green space to the lakefront.

Yes it is.

"We did not hear anything at the Bears news conference that could not take place at another Chicago location. We have too many questions to make any decision about the value of these plans. We encourage the Bears and the administration to act with 'honor, integrity, transparency, wisdom and to be forward thinking and collaborative' and not repeat past mistakes," the group's statement read.

Love,
Friends of the Park

The “Chicago Way” was on full display at the Chicago Bears news conference today. Once again, Chicago taxpayers are being told what is good for them. We are told that a new domed stadium on protected lakefront land will make Chicago a great city. We are already a great city—in large part due to our protected lakefront. As is so often the case in Chicago,the powerful and wealthy are demanding that our entire city stop and fast track their plans to expand operations on the people’s lakefront.

Meanwhile, the communities we work with who are addressing immigrant issues, homelessness, school closures, affordable housing, public safety, equitable transportation, and lack of jobs are fighting for parity–including at our Chicago Park District parks.

We are all being asked to trust the process and accept that it will, in fact, be Bear-a-dice. Yet, Chicago has a long history of, closed-door planning and rushed decision-making that does not end well for taxpayers. Just look at The Lincoln Yards, The 78, a Chicago casino, and the infamous parking meter deal. Each of these was going to make Chicago into a “world class” city and be a “win-win-win” for residents.

The questions everyone needs to ask of the Bears organization and our elected officials are:

1.What is the actual rush? Do rushed processes in Chicago ever end well? Our city takes decades to build a grocery store in a food desert, but we are being asked to jump as high as the Bears tell us to and fast. Yet, Bronzeville, home to the former Ida B. Wells Projects, and other public housing sites that were promised replacement housing after their communities were demolished in the early 2000s, are still empty in 2024.

2.What about the other parks in Chicago that have waited for equitable investment in their communities? Does a rushed process for an NFL team make more sense than, say, rushing the restoration of a South Side field house? Or expansion of programs to meet demands in North Lawndale? Or restoration of obsolete equipment across the city?

3. What other sites were vetted by the Bears and the City of Chicago, and what was the specific decision not to proceed with each of those sites? Violating the public trust doctrine should require a rigorous vetting process for alternatives.

4.What about Soldier Field? First, its history was all but obliterated with public funds,which we are still paying off, but now it is set for demolition? What message are we sending to our veterans and their families?

5.How does this plan demonstrate an investment in the people that Mayor Johnson promised to Chicago when he ran for office? How have the people been engaged in dialogue throughout this process? What is the process? Is it transparent? Is it inclusive? It is honest?

6. Why does it always come down to “we want our playground on the lake, or we will go somewhere else?” Is that fair to the rest of Chicago? It’s business as usual to have wealth and power dictating public policy, but is that a best practice for Chicago to follow?

7. It is a good business practice to trust and verify. It is sound business practice for the city of Chicago to hire independent contractors to objectively assess the economic impact the Bears have had since their bond deal in the early 2000s, which we are still paying off today. And to evaluate the return on investment if we put billions into this project directly or indirectly. What level of permanent jobs will this plan generate? Are they trade jobs with a track for career development?

8. Does it seem reasonable that the Chicago Bears should get their wants satisfied immediately while poor neighborhoods suffer from benign neglect?

9. We have seen no evidence of broad-based community engagement or community-led planning. We look forward to asking our questions about process to the stake-holders who participated with the Bears leadership at today’s news conference.

This is a time for some thoughtful, deliberate and civic engagement. A civil, community-driven conversation should be at the forefront of any action the city of Chicago takes regarding the lakefront.

We did not hear anything at the Bears news conference that could not take place at another Chicago location. We have too many questions to make any decision about the value of these plans. We encourage the Bears and the administration to act with “honor, integrity, transparency, wisdom and to be forward thinking and collaborative” and not repeat past mistakes.

Caleb Williams isn't really a "true" rookie because he turned 23 late into his 1st season in the NFL!"

Hate to tell ya this "Amigo", but that is sort of the essence of how life works.

It will get built in Chicago. All the politicians are just positioning themselves with their best interests in mind. None of them really care about the city or the taxpayers.

Corruption machine needs to be oiled in the right places for the noise to go away.

Hate to tell ya this "Amigo", but that is sort of the essence of how life works.

I still don't understand this whole "public trust doctrine" stuff. A stadium has existed there for 100 years. Why haven't they demolished it for 100 years? Why is it suddenly an issue when they simply want to replace it?

The future holds the possibility to be great or terrible, and since it has not yet occurred it remains simultaneously both.

Yes it is.

Probably the extent to which the Bears want to control the master lease on the building and the revenue from other events. If the stadium is "publicly owned" but the Bears get all the money from, as Kevin Warren put it, 20 straight nights of Beyonce concerts, then it ceases to be a stadium where the Bears happen to play a few times a year and becomes a year-round profit engine for private enterprise, which would be out of step with the museums and parkland, and an end-run around keeping the lakefront with the public. I don't think we could have Lollapalooza for 200 days a year, either.