B. Russ

Wall of famer ‘89. Fan of 2016 WS Chicago Cubs. paddle player 2016 holiday, 2017 4.0 series 5.0 team champ Iowa state fan. Lewis baseball dad. Bears!

[B. Russ @shagmd]

@NickyCashin @RBsSportsPlays Send it

[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.

[Lemont Baseball @Lemont_Baseball]

Congratulations @tuckerbrett32 on signing to play at SIUE(@SIUEBaseball). Looking forward to seeing you do big things at the next level. #WeAreLemont

[Lewis Baseball @LewisBaseball]

Offensive highlights from games 3&4
Constantine Coines 4-6 4runs
Chris Daugherty 4Rbi
Jimmy Spellman 4-8 5RBI 2HR
Alex Chaltin 3-7
John Russell 4-8 5RBI HR
Tylor Puma 4RBI

[Lewis Baseball @LewisBaseball]

💍⚾️✈️

[Lewis Baseball @LewisBaseball]

#11 Chris Daugherty with a double in the bottom of the second!

#FlyAsOne

[whitesoxdave @barstoolWSD]

😂😂😂

I could watch this shit ask night!!!

[NFL on Prime Video @NFLonPrime]

Mike Singletary has a message for all @ChicagoBears fans 🗣️

[Chase Daniel @ChaseDaniel]

Caleb Williams has to make this throw…1/2 second too late. Kmet is open.

Ben Johnson opted for a rollout to the field for more space but any QB going left is going to struggle.

[Michael O'Brien @michaelsobrien]

Jack Gonzalez scores on a 18-yard run. Lost him for a second while I got out of the way.

Glenbrook South 20, Minooka 7 in the 2Q.

[Joey’s Sports Bets @JoeyWalkerPicks]

✅ MNF Player Prop Streaks.

Bookmark it for later!

[Prep Baseball Illinois @PrepBaseballIL]

𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐰𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐃 𝐒𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 🌟

OF Jack Gonzalez (Glenbrook South, 2027) had a strong showing on Tuesday.

▪️6-foot, 170-pounds
▪️94.9 max EV; 85.5 avg EV
▪️6.82 60-time
▪️81 mph OF Velo

👤: https://t.co/AcS7P2S0s5 | @jgonzo534

[Prep Baseball Scouting @pbtscouting]

3B Hugh Schmitke (Adlai E Stevenson, 2028) rips this one down the line for a double. His second of the game.

A strong 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame.

@prepbaseballIL | #PBRatTheRock

[D2 Baseball @divIIbaseball]

.@LewisBaseball CF George Bilecki is selected in the 12th round by the @Padres!

Bilecki slashed .356/.432/.797 with 23 HR and 66 RBI with the Flyers last season. Congrats George!

#D2Baseball #MLBDraft

[James Hackett @Jhackett777]

Very grateful and excited to be a flame! 🔥

@CamJohnson29 @UIC_Baseball

[Scott Newman @sconewman]

Super excited and grateful! Go dawgs 🐶! @BaseballUGA

[GBS Baseball @GBS_Baseball]

Congrats Scott! Keep workin, improving and having fun! Love following your career. #Titan4Life

[B. Russ @shagmd]

@ToddBSpeed @TyHaliburton22 @Pacers @NBA @NBAonTNT @espn @CycloneMBB #harvardofthemidwest #big12 #big12family

[Lewis Athletics ✈️ @LewisFlyers]

Kocen Awarded Player of Year, Lawry Named Pitcher of the Year, Vucsko Earns Coach of Year; Eight @LewisBaseball Players Named All-@GLVCsports

Read more here: https://t.co/JIiFYaDMru

#FlyAsOne

[D2 Baseball @divIIbaseball]

After their two wins today, @LewisBaseball has clinched the GLVC Regular Season Title.

Congrats to the Lewis Flyers!

#D2Baseball