P Stenod

[P Stenod @ponuts4]

exactly. Bears know us, fans, will still be traveling to see a game

[Jacob Infante @jacobinfante24]

I don't care much that the #Bears are moving forward with Indiana. That was the better deal financially, and the Illinois government didn't make things easy.

I'll still go to games. I'm excited to see an actual entertainment district around the stadium now. Just get it done.

[P Stenod @ponuts4]

@rightnowish @MikeNellis yup shots fired!

[P Stenod @ponuts4]

a good read

[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.

[P Stenod @ponuts4]

@TheOnlySappy @PackersRunNFC maybe i will go back
to packers once they release josh jacobs women beater

[Richyque @richyque]

@SpeakerWelchIL Spare us the BS, we all know the facts

[P Stenod @ponuts4]

@chicagotribune oh? thought the players didn't get paid enough? weird.

[Dan Pompei @danpompei]

Many who go to games will not like it, but the Bears will thrive across the state line. They follow a long line of good businesses out of Illinois, and many more are likely to follow, given the leadership in the Land of Lincoln.

[P Stenod @ponuts4]

Good for them. Illinois politicians thought it was a bluff, stick it to them.

[Dave @davebftv]

The #Bears are expected to announce today that their Board of Directors has voted to move forward with Hammond as the preferred site for the team's future stadium, according to @DavidHaugh.

Seems the Bears are moving to Indiana and the stadium saga has concluded.

[P Stenod @ponuts4]

SWANSON!!!!

PCAAAAAA!!!!!

CUBS WINNNNNN!

[✶ Sports Mockery ✶ @sportsmockery]

Want to attend Opening Day at Soldier Field to see the Bears take down the Vikings?

Now's your chance!

💥 Follow @sportsmockery
🚨 RT this post
🏈 Tag your friends

[P Stenod @ponuts4]

Imagine breaking the curse and winning the super bowl 🤯🤯😤

[Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter]

The #Madden27 Cover:

[EJ 🇺🇸 @itsmine49]

Kevin Warren made the big10 super wealthy and the top conf surpassing the SEC.

Kevin Warren built the best stadium in the NFL at the time in Minnesota at a great location with a great deal for the franchise and city.

Kevin Warren turned the Bears and their reputation around amongst the leagues circles.

Sorry I’m not taking the side of corrupt Illinois/Chicago politicians or anything they have to say about anything. There’s a reason why huge companies are leaving the city and the state left and right.

[P Stenod @ponuts4]

@BearsShowYo I'm sorry

[P Stenod @ponuts4]

PLEASE COULD SOMEONE DO A WELFARE CHECK ON @SP_SULLY??? i'm afraid he fainted!

[NFL on ESPN @ESPNNFL]

The new-look Patriots 🔥

[P Stenod @ponuts4]

If Kevin Warren doesn't say Hammond is the final decision to dig ground, then we all know Indiana was just a bluff

[Ben Devine @Chicago_NFL]

Cost decision to build a Bears stadium:

Hammond
- ZERO taxes for 40 years
- $1B funds from IN for stadium
- $700M from IN for infrastructure

Arlington
- $50M to $200M annual tax bill
- ZERO funds for stadium
- ZERO infrastructure costs covered

#DaBears

[P Stenod @ponuts4]

@CourtneyRCronin We, the fans, can change the politicians up in November's election. Just saying 🤷‍♂️

[P Stenod @ponuts4]

Perfectly said

[Collin Corbett @CollinCorbett]

Politics is the only thing holding up a Bears deal.

JB Pritzker can't be tied to anything that looks like it helps billionaire sports owners if he wants to run for President in a Democratic primary.

Darren Bailey and Republicans secretly want the Bears to go to Indiana so they can hang it around Pritzker's neck in the upcoming election.

Brandon Johnson would rather see the Bears go to Indiana than help the suburbs.

Chicago legislators want their palms greased before voting yes.

This is why we're building an Independent movement. Because in Illinois, common sense rarely prevails over politics. And everyday Illinoisans keep paying the price.

#twill

[P Stenod @ponuts4]

@TitosMakuti @AP yes it is 😂😂🤦🏽‍♂️

[P Stenod @ponuts4]

When the media and everyone goes mad and threats Jaxson Dart but ok with this?

Got it. Party of unity 🥴🥴

[Drew @AllegedlyDrew]

Josh Jacobs beat and strangled this woman and the Packers still have him on the roster. 🥴