With less than two weeks to go in the Illinois legislative session, the question of where the Chicago Bears’ new stadium will be built remains unanswered.
The state’s Senate is continuing to mull legislation aimed at keeping the Bears in Illinois, while some questions have been raised about the site in Indiana where lawmakers there are hoping the team will construct its new home.
Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tinaglia echoed reporting from the Chicago Tribune on Tuesday while discussing that site located in Hammond. He raised questions about the proximity of the proposed site to the BP refinery along the lakefront, the company’s largest in the world, and to a Superfund clean-up site.
“It’s a challenge. It’s a real challenge,” he said. “People know I’m an architect and I work for people all the time. Does it have proper management for environmental protection and stormwater management? If it doesn’t, it’s dollars to (fix it).”
The Bears thus far have not raised any concerns about the site, and in a comment to NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk, Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. was confident the site would pass muster.
“I understand people want to take a close look, but the Bears know far more about environmental concerns in that area than any of us, because they’re spending millions of dollars on it,” he said.
Indiana’s push to land the Bears has sparked a sense of urgency among Illinois lawmakers, including Gov. JB Pritzker. Tinaglia says the governor is “very bullish” on the chances of a new stadium being built in Arlington Heights.
“Governor Pritzker is very, very bullish on this happening,” he said. “He’s our guy. He’s our governor, and he wants this to happen. I respect that, and I hope he can make that happen.”
Still, there is always the specter of doubt lingering amid the uncertainty over the team’s final choice. Tinaglia was quick to bring up the Kansas City Chiefs, who will leave their current home in Missouri for a new stadium in Kansas after lawmakers there earmarked public funding to assist in the project.
The Illinois General Assembly’s current session runs through May 31.
