Bears stadium talks: Records show August meetings with Illinois officials

ILLINOIS - The Chicago Bears have repeatedly said their focus is on Indiana. But new public records obtained by Capitol News Illinois show the team was still having conversations with Illinois officials last month.

Bears spoke with lawmakers in August

The backstory:

Brenden Moore, a state government and politics reporter for Capitol News Illinois, obtained emails showing Deputy Gov. Andy Manar reached out to Bears Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Stadium Development Karen Murphy on August 11 for a "check in." 

Murphy reportedly agreed to a meeting on August 20. About an hour before that meeting, Murphy reportedly asked that Bears minority owner and board member Pat Ryan be added to the call.

Capitol News Illinois also found an additional, undated WebEx meeting between Murphy and Manar titled "Infrastructure Meeting with Karen + Andy." 

On August 13 during a press conference, Bears team president Kevin Warren and chairman George McCaskey made their position official that the team's focus was building a stadium development project in Hammond. 

It was during this press conference that Warren also said the Bears are exploring and evaluating a second site in Hammond, Wolf Lake Terminals. Warren also said the team is considering merging the two sites as a possibility for their stadium development project. 

"We have had occasional meetings with the state of Illinois and also we're just grateful that the NFL has been very helpful to us especially Commissioner Goodell," said Warren. "But even though we've had occasional meetings with the state of Illinois, our sole focus at this point in time is working on a world-class stadium and mixed-use development in Hammond Indiana."

When reporters asked Warren and McCaskey about their meetings and conversations with Illinois lawmakers, they described them as "minimal." 

But according to Moore's reporting, the conversations between the Bears and Illinois continued.

"I think it matters a lot because it shows that despite what the Bears have been saying publicly, what they're doing behind closed doors doesn't really match that," said Moore. 

Moore says the records show Murphy met with Manar at least twice in August, and that Ryan was added to one of those meetings. He also says the records do not show what was discussed.

"We don't know what exactly was said in that meeting or what it was specifically about," stressed Moore.

However, he said Ryan's involvement is notable because of his experience with major sports facilities, including Northwestern's new Ryan Field.

"I do think it's pretty significant that he is involved in," said Moore.  "Again, the initial meeting was requested by Deputy Governor Manar, but it was Karen Murphy who said an hour before where Pat Ryan is also gonna be on this call."

The Illinois connection

Moore said the records he obtained show a meeting focused on infrastructure. Illinois lawmakers have said they would not directly fund construction of a Bears stadium, but Governor J.B. Pritzker has said repeatedly that the state could provide hundreds of millions of dollars for infrastructure surrounding a major development, such as roads and other public improvements. Moore says that makes the infrastructure meeting notable — even if it does not establish that the Bears are pursuing a deal in Illinois. On June 5, the Bears announced their board of directors voted to advance the stadium development project in Hammond.

"It would be normal for them to be talking about that topic. That's a really big piece of the puzzle for any stadium project, but again, it kind of shows that even if there was a vote in June, say, we're focusing on Indiana, the talks in Illinois have not stopped," said Moore. 

On August 27, Pritzker has also made clear he wants Illinois to remain in the conversation.

"Yes, I have spoken with Commissioner Goodell, it's been my job all along here to make sure we have the best opportunity to keep the Bears in the state of Illinois however that can come about," said Pritzker.  "But I can say that we're going to continue to work hard to keep the Bears in Illinois."

And Friday, the governor's office again acknowledged that those conversations are continuing, releasing a statement to Fox Chicago saying: 

"As we’ve said, we continue to have conversations with the Bears about their plans in Illinois. We look forward to continuing to work with them."

What the Bears have said

The Bears have maintained publicly that Hammond is their focus. McCaskey also said the organization had identified two viable sites — Arlington Heights and Hammond — before the board voted to advance the Indiana project. The Bears still own 326 acres of property at the former Arlington Park Racetrack and have not put the property up for sale. 

The Bears did not respond to our request for comment, including our question about whether Kevin Warren participated in any of the meetings. We asked Moore about whether Warren was part of those August meetings documented in records he obtained. 

"My understanding, he was not," said Moore. "It seems that a lot of the communication between the state of Illinois and the Bears has happened between Karen Murphy and Andy Manar. There's been some criticism about Kevin Warren's engagement, George McCaskey's engagement, or perhaps the lack thereof. For instance, they weren't in Springfield last weekend of the session."

What's next:

Illinois lawmakers return to Springfield for the fall veto session in November. Both chambers previously passed different stadium-related proposals, but lawmakers did not agree on a single bill.

 

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