Tell Us What You Want
On June 16, Illinois leaders from the Governor to the House Speaker to both parties told Kevin Warren the same thing: endorse a bill or stop blaming us. Two months have passed since the House did its job. The Bears haven't said a word about either one.
By Dear Kevin Warren · 2026-06-17
On June 16, four different Illinois political figures said the same thing in four different venues. The Governor at a budget signing. The House Speaker to the Tribune. The bill's lead sponsor to a Fox affiliate in Indianapolis. A Republican legislator filing a new bill.
The message was identical: "Tell us what you want."
Kevin Warren has not.
It has been two months since the Illinois House passed HB 910. The megaprojects bill gave the Bears almost everything the team asked for in February. Since then, the Bears have not publicly endorsed the House version. They have not endorsed the Senate version either. Rep. Kam Buckner told Crain's Chicago Business: "The House was asking: 'Why should we pass the Senate version if the Bears haven't said it works for them?' The Senate was asking: 'Why should we pass the House version if the Bears haven't said it works for them?'"
Those are fair questions. Neither chamber can advance without the team picking a side. The team has picked neither.
The Step Backwards
House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch made the timeline explicit. In February, the Bears issued a statement specifically naming Wolf Lake in Hammond. After the session ended in May, the Bears issued another statement about Indiana. This time referencing "sites," plural. Vague. Generic. A retreat from the threat.
"That statement was very different than the statement we saw in February," Welch told the Tribune. "What came out here in June was very generic that they're looking at 'sites,' which tells me they've taken a step backwards."
The Speaker of the Illinois House is publicly dismissing the Bears' Hammond threat as less credible than it was four months ago.
The Gumbo Test
Buckner put it in terms no one will need explained.
"At some point, you've either got to tell us exactly what kind of gumbo you're looking for, or you've got to come into the kitchen and help make it."
In a separate interview with Fox 59 Indianapolis, Buckner itemized the practical obstacles to Hammond that the Bears have not addressed: environmental studies and brownfield remediation not done, traffic studies not done, permitting and zoning untouched, the NFL relocation application (which requires proving there is no viable plan in the current market), and the need for 24 of 32 owner votes.
"You don't call a special session to draw up a flight plan. You call a special session to land the plane."
The plane is not cleared for takeoff. Warren has not filed the flight plan.
The Governor's Red Line
Gov. JB Pritzker signed a $55.9 billion state budget on June 16. At the signing, he delivered his clearest taxpayer-protection statement yet on the stadium.
"We're going to protect the taxpayers, that's principle No. 1. We want the Bears to stay. I love the Chicago Bears. But we're not going to put that burden on working families across our state."
He said he would do everything "within reason." He explicitly said he would not raise taxes.
The Bears have known this red line for months. Pritzker has been consistent. The team's response has been silence. Then a generic Hammond statement that Welch calls a step backwards.
The Republican Bills
Rep. Martin McLaughlin (R-Barrington Hills) filed HB 5797 on June 15. The "Taxpayer and Investment Protection Act" calls for $1.2 billion in state infrastructure, a 2.5 percent property tax rate that increases annually for 30 years, and a mandatory third-party annual audit.
Pritzker dismissed it: "Just randomly putting a bill in that might be your idea doesn't necessarily solve the problem of what the Bears may want."
A Republican filed a bill. The Democratic governor dismissed it. The Bears did not comment. That is three different groups in the same room, none of them talking to each other.
Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) is expected to file separate legislation this week. The Bears spokesman declined to comment to Crain's.
The Warren Playbook, Year Three
This is what the Warren negotiating strategy has produced:
A House bill the Bears haven't endorsed. A Senate bill the Bears haven't endorsed. A Republican bill the Bears won't comment on. A governor saying he'll call a special session, but only if the Bears first say what they want. A House Speaker saying the Hammond threat is weaker today than in February. A lead sponsor itemizing the Hammond obstacles the Bears haven't addressed. A Cook County Treasurer who published a $1.5 billion analysis the Bears also won't engage.
Warren's playbook demands a deal without specifying terms. Threatens relocation without doing the relocation homework. Asks legislators to pass a bill without telling them which version works.
Buckner was blunt about the last three years: "There was a portion of these conversations that were not good faith where the Bears were really trying to get as many options and offers on the table as possible because they thought that put them in a position of strength."
A sitting state representative, the lead sponsor of the bill the Bears theoretically want, is publicly saying the negotiating strategy was bad faith.
The Question No One Will Answer
The June 16 news wave made one thing clear. Illinois has done its part. The House passed a bill. The Senate has a version. Republicans are filing alternatives. The governor says he will call a special session.
The Bears have done one thing: said nothing about any of the above.
Two months is a long time to not have an opinion about legislation you claim to need. When you're serious about staying, you say which bill works. When you're negotiating in good faith, you come into the kitchen and help make the gumbo.
Kevin Warren has not told anyone what kind of gumbo he wants.
That is not a negotiating strategy. That is a stall.
And the people being stalled are no longer pretending otherwise.
Update — July 13, 2026
This article was published June 17. Within 48 hours, Pritzker and Welch confirmed to WAND-TV that the Bears have been calling the governor's office with "thoughts about ways to move forward" — but "have not been clear about what is the bill that they need or whether they have the votes." A Bears spokesman declined to comment.
By June 23, Pritzker revealed the Bears are working to merge HB 910 (House PILOT) and HB 958 (Senate Municipal Stadium Authority) into a single compromise bill — and by June 24, the Bears were reportedly constructing the legislation themselves. This is a shift: the team that refused to endorse either chamber's bill is now writing its own.
But here is what has not changed: the Bears still have not publicly endorsed any bill. Not the House version. Not the Senate version. Not the compromise they are reportedly drafting. As of mid-July, the gumbo is still being seasoned in private, and nobody in Springfield has been invited into the kitchen.
The Illinois General Assembly is not scheduled to return until the November 17 veto session. Governor Pritzker has said he will call a special session this summer if lawmakers unify — but Welch has ruled out a pre-fall return. The clock Warren set at the April 1 NFL meeting ("late spring, early summer" for a decision) has entered summer with no visible decision.
Tell us what you want. They still haven't.