Chicago Bears receive another warning from Gov. JB Pritzker’s office about stadium

The Bears hired an adviser with “close ties” to “Pritzker’s political operation,” per an open records request obtained by the Chicago Tribune.

The report suggested that talks between the Bears and Pritzker’s office have “gone deeper” than what the governor has wanted to portray to the press. The Bears’ advisor reached out to Caprara in an email, hoping to discuss plans after CEO Kevin Warren set his sights on Arlington Heights as the location for the stadium. The Bears hoped to deliver “significant wins for the administration.”

In response to the CT report, Caprara sent a message that Pritzker has no plans to support funding for the stadium unless Illinois receives something “substantial” in return.

“Back on here briefly to respond to this bc it’s absurd,” Caprara posted on X. “No one in the Gov’s office or in state government is an expert in NFL finances. The governor has been clear that he’s not going to support state funding for a new stadium unless the state got something substantial in return.”

The Bears have been warned to make it worth it to Pritzker

Caprara defended the $100,000 in advisory fees, claiming that nothing “salacious” was uncovered in the report.

“We needed to understand what the state should ask for in any negotiations with the Bears,” she wrote. “We hired someone who understands NFL finances to help us do that well. Would the @chicagotribune like us to just enter negotiations w/o that kind of knowledge?”

Caprara wrote that Pritzker’s position on building the stadium has not changed since hiring the advisor. But we do know the Bears are still trying to sweeten the pot for the administration.

Building a stadium isn’t cheap for taxpayers. It appears that trying to figure out how much subsidy the government should give is also an expensive prospect.