The Bears’ long quest to get a new stadium suffered another setback when Illinois approved its budget without allocating anything the Bears had requested. But Bears chairman and CEO Kevin Warren says he still believes something will be done.
“I am confident that at the right time we will come together to discover a solution for the stadium,” Warren said, via NBCSportsChicago.com.
The Bears’ proposed solution includes state tax dollars making up a significant portion of the stadium’s funding, and it has been called a failure by state officials, who say they simply won’t make a deal that makes taxpayers foot the bill for a stadium that will benefit an already very profitable business like the Bears. But Warren has indicated that he believes state leaders can accept the Bears’ way of seeing things after the November elections.
“This is an election year,” Warren said. “We have people who don’t have meals to eat. We have people sleeping on the street. A weekend.”
The Bears will continue to push for taxpayers to pay for a portion of their stadium project, but there is no appetite for that in Illinois, Warren’s optimism aside.
