MOORE’S SUMMARY: Gov. JB Pritzker dismissed a last-ditch pitch from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to keep the Chicago Bears from leaving city limits, telling reporters Monday morning that the mayor had “no plan” that would convince the team to stay rather than building a new domed stadium in either Arlington Heights or Hammond.
PROBLEMATIC: “He has come up with no plan at all about how the Bears would end up in the city of Chicago,” Pritzker said. “So, that’s problematic. I’d love them to be in the city, but we are three years in now, and he still has no plan.”
WHY IT MATTERS: With two weeks left in the spring legislative session, state lawmakers are negotiating a megaprojects bill that would ostensibly clear the path for the Bears to stay in Illinois by allowing the team to negotiate a payment in lieu of taxes with local taxing bodies at a site they own in Arlington Heights.
But Johnson has launched a Hail Mary heave to keep the team in Chicago. The mayor lobbied against the megaprojects legislation during a three-day trip to Springfield earlier this month. In an interview with Crain’s Chicago Business last week, he proposed a city takeover of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority, the government entity created to construct Rate Field and, later, renovate Soldier Field. Soldier Field.
The governor controls the ISFA by appointing four of its seven board members, including its chairman. The mayor appoints the remaining three.
‘TYPICAL’: Pritzker dismissed the proposal, calling it “typical” of Johnson’s tenure.
“The mayor has shown up every spring at the end of session to pronounce what he would like to see happen, and as you know, the budget gets put together starting in November,” Pritzker said, adding that “to show up in May and have a bunch of demands seems like late in the game, and it’s unfortunate that’s happened most years.”
WHAT JOHNSON WANTS: Johnson wants to dust off a 2024 proposal to build a publicly owned Bears stadium on the city’s lakefront that would require at least $900 million in state funds for stadium construction and $1.5 billion for surrounding infrastructure.
Johnson spokesperson Allison Novelo said in a statement that “for the past two years, the city has continued to advocate for a publicly owned stadium and has not supported the advancement of a privately owned stadium.
“Chicago remains the only group to put forward a plan centered on public ownership alongside a funding mechanism that does not burden property taxpayers while keeping the Bears in Chicago,” Novelo said, adding that they “look forward to continuing to work with the legislature, the State, and all stakeholders to advance a solution that centers the needs of working Illinoisans while preserving the Bears’ future in Chicago.”
Pritzker and state lawmakers have long dismissed the proposal as a nonstarter. And Bears CEO Kevin Warren said last month that the team believes “strongly” that Arlington Heights is “the only site in the state of Illinois” that’s feasible, citing the need for space for a mixed-use district surrounding the stadium. The Bears reiterated last week that they are not considering any sites in Chicago city limits.
JOHNSON’S SPRINGFIELD PROBLEM: As we wrote a few weeks ago, Johnson has struggled to build relationships in Springfield ever since he took office in 2023. His May visits to the Capitol have been met with frustration by both lawmakers and Pritzker, who note that the budget-making and legislative processes begin months earlier. The mayor’s low approval ratings don’t help his clout in the building.
The point is: It remains to be seen if the megaprojects bill will get across the finish line before lawmakers adjourn in a couple weeks. But most Statehouse observers we talk with believe Johnson’s influence has little bearing on the outcome.
MEGAPROJECTS: There’s no white smoke yet on the megaprojects bill. But top negotiators in the governor’s office, House and Senate met with the Bears last week. And lawmakers and folks surrounding negotiations I’ve spoken with seem to think it gets done – it’s just a matter of what the final details look like. Bill language is expected to be reviewed this week among stakeholders, though it’s unclear when it will be filed. Of course, things can always blow up in the final hours. Pritzker, for what it’s worth, says it’s “in the legislature’s hands.”
“I mean, I put the structure of a deal together with the Bears, and now the Senate has some work to do,” Pritzker said. “I think they’re going to make changes to the bill, no doubt. But I would expect that we’ll see something before May 31.”
BUILD: Meanwhile, Pritzker said there’s “a pretty good prospect of many” if not “most” of the elements of his Building Up Illinois Developments, or BUILD, plan through the legislature before the end of session.
BUILD is Pritzker’s plan to address the state’s housing shortage. It would preempt local zoning laws to allow multi-unit housing by right on most residentially zoned lots. It would also legalize accessory dwelling units on all residentially zoned lots, expedite timelines for housing permit reviews and inspections and standardize “impact” fees.
It hasn’t moved in either the House or Senate, though subject matter hearings have been held, and negotiations are happening behind closed doors. The plan has run into fierce opposition from the Illinois Municipal League, which has dismissed it as a one-size-fits-all approach to housing and zoning laws that takes control from local governments.
Pritzker calls Johnson’s proposal to have the city take over the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority “typical,” noting that “the mayor has shown up every spring at the end of session to pronounce what he would like to see happen.” He says it’s “late in the game.” https://t.co/CiHJNoPB14 pic.twitter.com/uTkkh7iNZy
— Brenden Moore (@brendenmoore13) May 18, 2026
The IML has pitched their own housing affordability plan that would take a carrot instead of stick approach that would incentivize but not mandate local governments to adopt policies encouraging homebuilding. Pritzker dismissed it on Monday.
“I would say that the counter proposal, or whatever it was by the IML, really is just all about the state spending a whole big bunch of money and not doing what we really need to do,” Pritzker said.
Statehouse sources say elements of Pritzker’s plan involving zoning changes likely face an uphill climb. But proposed $250 million in capital spending for site preparation grants, middle housing development, and first-time homebuyer assistance included in the plan has generally garnered bipartisan support.
HEALTH: Pritzker confirmed Monday that he went to the emergency room at Springfield Memorial Hospital last Wednesday to address a minor complication from a urology procedure earlier this month.
“They were terrific,” Pritzker said. “I talked to a couple of doctors who came in to see me, a nurse or two, and they kind of patched me up and sent me home and said ‘this is not serious.’”
The governor said that had he been in Chicago, he likely would have seen his doctor instead of going to the hospital. He worked full days on Thursday and Friday, meeting with legislators and even getting his hair cut at a Springfield salon.
Pritzker’s office disclosed his earlier May 1 urology procedure, noting that he would pause public events for the following week. But the hospital visit last week wasn’t disclosed until after inquiries were made by news media.
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