Bears still lobbying in Illinois despite Hammond focus

ILLINOIS - The Chicago Bears have repeatedly said their focus is now building a new domed stadium in Hammond, Indiana. But the Bears have not completely walked away from Illinois.

Illinois not completely off the table for Bears

What we know:

The team still has lobbyists working in Springfield. Fox Chicago confirmed the Bears still have three lobbying firms on their payroll. Those firms include Craig Willert Consulting, Inc., Government Solutions Group and Maxfair Inc. Fox Chicago has reached out to all of those firms. Only Maxfair responded, but gave us "no comment."

We spoke with Maze Jackson, a longtime Illinois lobbyist and managing partner at Intelligence Group Limited, who told us this move by the Bears is significant.

"When I see that the lobbyists are still on the team, and when I look at the lobbyist that they have on the teams, seems like they've got people that can negotiate and get it done in the House, the Senate, and the governor's office," said Jackson. "I would say that if they've still got a team, then there's still hope."

Jackson says lobbyists are not simply people who show up when lawmakers are in session. He says they're working year-round to build coalitions, identify opposition and prepare legislation. We asked Jackson about what lobbyists should be doing between legislative sessions, especially in the case of the Bears where both stadium bills did not reach the governor's desk.

"I would be coalition building," said Jackson. "I'd be trying to add to our coalition of support. I'd be speaking with legislators who we think are going to be our key opposition, figuring out what are the things that we need to be talking about or including in the bill so that the next time we're up to bat, we've taken into consideration all of our opposition."

Jackson says the fact the Bears have retained a smaller group of lobbyists after the spring legislative session is something worth watching.

"When I looked at that list of lobbyists that they've kept, and you know, this is also, when I say it's a dead time of the year, often a lot of lobbyists get cut on May 31st after the legislation," said Jackson. "Then you get down to your bare bones, the people that get down to the nitty-gritty that put the strategy together."

Jackson says the specific people the Bears have retained could be even more telling.

"The core people that you need to get a deal done are still in the mix, so I keep an eye on them," added Jackson.

It comes after Chicago Bears chairman George McCaskey said conversations between the team and Illinois lawmakers have been 'minimal,' and that the team's stadium focus is now across state lines.

"Our focus is again at this point in time, is in Hammond, Indiana," said Kevin Warren, Chicago Bears president, during last week's press conference at Halas Hall.

Warren also says there is currently no Illinois legislation or deal on the table.

"We don't have any legislation in Illinois," said Warren. "We don't have a deal with Illinois and it wouldn't be fair to answer a hypothetical question like that."

Governor J.B. Pritzker, meanwhile, says he believes the Bears would still like to remain in Illinois, but added the team has to come forward with a proposal lawmakers can actually support.

"I do believe that they would like to stay in the state of Illinois," said Pritzker. "I also believe that they have not come forward with the bill that they would like, ask, the legislature to pass."

Pritzker says the responsibility to get legislation passed ultimately falls on the team to find a path forward with lawmakers.

"They've hired new lobbyists and they're working with those lobbyists and I hope with members of the legislature to push something through," said Pritzker.

What we don't know:

What remains unclear is whether the Bears' continued lobbying presence in Illinois is simply standard government relations — or whether the team is keeping an Illinois option alive.

Jackson believes it could be the latter.

He says there are two periods worth watching: the fall veto session and the end of the year, when lawmakers enter the lame-duck period.

"If we start to see contracts starting to beef up around October, then we see something in veto session," said Jackson. "If not, then I'd start to look at right around, not only veto session, I think we can also look at lame duck."

The Bears have not said Chicago is back on the table. A reporter asked Warren about the mistakes the team made during the spring legislative session, which may have contributed to legislation not passing.

"I don't think we've made any mistakes," said Warren. "As you study these projects, I really look at these as learning opportunities to come together. They are complex."

Jackson offered a different perspective.

"If he wanted to get a deal done, then clearly there was something that needed to be done different," said Jackson. "What I've found as a lobbyist is that when you're dealing with people that are very, very powerful. They often think that maybe their way is the best, right? Because they've been tremendously successful. I think that looking at the team that he had assembled seemed like they should have been, those people, especially over two years, would have known how to get something done. And so I would just encourage him to maybe heed some of the advice of those lobbyists. Because while he's a titan of business and industry, they have been Springfield insiders for years before we ever even knew who he was."

What's next:

Fox Chicago reached out to the Chicago Bears to ask them about their lobbyists still working for the team in Illinois, but the team was not available for comment. 

The Illinois General Assembly veto session is scheduled for November 17–19 and December 1–3. The spring legislative session begins January 13, 2027. 

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