Mike Gragnani

I'd rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints... the sinners have much more fun...

[Yogi @Houseofyogi]

Chicago lost the Bears this week. A team that's been in the city since 1921.

They didn't lose them to a bigger market or a better deal. The Bears decided they'd rather be a tenant in Indiana than deal with Illinois for one more year.

Think about how badly you have to run a place for that to be the smart move.

They lost them for two reasons.

The people running Illinois would rather villainize a builder than keep one. And they're bad at their jobs.

In 2021 the Bears spent $197M on the old Arlington Park racetrack.

Before they could break ground, Cook County valued the empty lot at $192M (Bears said $60M). They were salivating at the chance to extort a building that didn't even exist yet.

That fight dragged on for years.

The Bears were ready to put $2B into the stadium. All they wanted was a promise the county wouldn't reassess them into oblivion, plus $855M for infrastructure everyone uses. Roads, transit, utilities. A $3B project, two thirds of it private money pouring into Illinois.

Springfield had since 2021 to get this done. They dragged it to the final night of session, passed it through the Senate at 3:39AM, and the House went home without voting.

So now it's all gone.

The funniest part? This started because Cook County tried to grab the tax early. They knew a built stadium would pay $53M a year. Now they get under $4M on a vacant lot. No jobs, no buildout, no new anything.

Congrats on fighting for scraps and losing the whole prize.

Pritzker: they're "an $8.5B valued business" that doesn't need propping up.

But be smart for a second. Almost every NFL city throws in public money for a stadium. Not charity. The return is real. Tourism, hotels, restaurants, jobs, game days, property tax on a huge development. The math works.

Indiana did the math. While Illinois sat on it for years, Indiana passed a bill in months, put up $1B, and took the team.

And the Bears took a worse deal to get there. In Illinois they were going to own their stadium. In Indiana they rent it from the state. A team that wanted to build its own home gave up ownership just to escape Chicago.

Nobody won but Indiana. The Bears lost their stadium. Illinois lost the team, the $2B, and $53M a year in taxes.

Pritzker after they left: "I wasn't willing to give up billions of dollars of taxpayer money to give it to a billionaire-owned family or team."

There it is. "Billionaire-owned."

That's how Democrats talk about any business right before they run it out of town. Call them a billionaire, act like you're saving working families, take a victory lap while the tax base drives across the state line.

Meanwhile they're running the whole state into the ground. And you already know how this ends. You're living in it.

Pensions are $143B in the hole, worst in the country and not close. You pay $6,285 a year in property taxes, double the $2,969 national average, for a city that's $1.15B in the red. The mayor called its finances "the point of no return."

When you run things this badly, you sell what's left.

They leased the parking meters for 75 years to Morgan Stanley and a sovereign wealth fund in Abu Dhabi. Took $1.15B and burned through it in two years. The investors already made it all back, with 58 years left to collect.

Sold the Skyway. Sold the downtown garages. Every asset that made money, gone for one check.

But a fixed property tax rate for a team that's been here 106 years? That's "propping up billionaires."

Companies are leaving. Boeing for Virginia. Caterpillar for Texas. Citadel for Miami. In 2023 alone Illinois lost 56,000 people and $6B in income to other states. The ones who left earned a third more than the ones who moved in.

Indiana didn't outbid anyone. AAA credit, 16 years straight. A $676M surplus. Fourth-lowest debt per person in the country. They just weren't a disaster.

Illinois could have collected $53M a year. It chose zero. Ignore all the bad management but make sure to stick it to those evil, pesky billionaires.

[Darren Bailey @DarrenBaileyIL]

Imagine being the governor who lost the Chicago Bears.

[Taylor Lewan @TaylorLewan77]

Might be the best commercial for a video game we’ve EVER seen.

[Steve Byrne @stevebyrnelive]

This is rich coming from her. Here's a personal story of the irony here: 2007, CH does The Tonight show w Jay Leno. She makes fun of Angelina Jolie & her newly adopted son, 3 yr old Pax, who is Asian.

CH: “He probably doesn’t even realize he’s Asian yet! He certainly doesn’t know he’s going to be a horrible driver… or that he’s going to be amazing at doing nails!”

The next few days there was plenty of outrage, disappointment & accusations of racism levied against NBC.

2 weeks later, I'm booked on The Tonight Show & I've already had my set approved. I was told, I can't tell any of my jokes because of the blowback of her hacky, racist jokes. Yes, I couldn't tell jokes about being Asian because she did so much damage making fun of Asians.

Then, weeks later of 2007, I performed at a showcase where CH was present. Prior to, I had never spoken to, met or interacted with her & as I was wrapping up my set, I mentioned her in the crowd? It's odd to see a comedian sitting in a showcase watching w audience, so I mentioned it in passing. She then yelled out "you're doing a great little Asian job".

MY POINT: I personally know Shane & Tony aren't racist. In fact, I don't think Chelsea is racist. Sure, she's got a long history of promiscuity, an affinity for day drinking, publicly stated she's prescribed a healthy dose of anti depressants, rumored to be awful to work for or with, has a punch card to a plastic surgeon, accused of punching down in her comedy, never been married or had kids & lives alone in her 50s, had dinner with Jeffrey Epstein but c'mon gang, she's not racist.

[Mike Gragnani @MikeGrags]

@BarstoolBigCat Lookin like Lloyd Christmas

[Mike Gragnani @MikeGrags]

@WaddleandSilvy Might as well drafted another punter…

[Mike Gragnani @MikeGrags]

@sheanorling Drafting for need not best player, don’t love it

[Brian Baldinger @BaldyNFL]

.@ChicagoBears @oregonfootball @DillonThieneman helps ease the pain of losing their 2 starting safeties...He is a RAT...a good RAT. #dabears #BaldysBreakdowns

[Chicago Bears @ChicagoBears]

The moment Dillon became a Bear 🐻⬇️

[Daniel Turner @DanielTurnerPTF]

Today is Earth Day.

The loudest climate crusaders fly private, roll in motorcades, and own multiple homes, then blame you for using a plastic straw.

Enjoy this clip of Elizabeth Warren stepping off a private jet.

[Mike Gragnani @MikeGrags]

@DOM_Frederic I retract my statement

[Mike Gragnani @MikeGrags]

@DOM_Frederic Hendricksesque level of reliability

[Talkin' Baseball @TalkinBaseball_]

Didn’t expect to see a full moon inside a dome

[Mike Gragnani @MikeGrags]

@cubs officially 1-0 when a fan looses their pants @BarstoolBigCat @WaddleandSilvy @thekapman

[Jim Koenigsberger @Jimfrombaseball]

"Ron Santo's very first 'Opening Day" in the broadcasting booth, they go live and his partner starts into whatever his scripted opening was going to be.
But Ron Santo spills his hot coffee into his lap and shouts "God dammit" on the air and that's what welcomes Cubs fans into that new season."
"I think Ron taught everyone, diabetics and others, how to handle your physical situations later in life.
Everyone is going to have problems and everyone dies, but some handle that process better than others, and Ronnie handled it better than anyone.
The battle that I witnessed him fight over the last 10 years was absolutely unbelievable, and I think he was a great leader and extremely inspirational in that regard."
Pat Hughes.

[Maury Brown @BizballMaury]

Welcome to Opening Day week. Here’s maybe the greatest promo ever done.

[TMZ @TMZ]

🕊️ Chuck Norris has died at 86. https://t.co/iEc9C997Ik

[Shooter McGavin @ShooterMcGavin]

USA 3-0 against Canada the past two months 🇺🇸

[Funhouse @BackAftaThis]

"They had a reputation for breakin' up bars. But they knew that instant, they made a fatal mistake. This time, they walked into the wrong bar." ☠️