Lightfoot’s $2.2 BILLION Bribe Fails to Keep the Bears in Chicago
Arguably the woke-ist, most anti-cop mayor in the history of the Windy City, Lori Lightfoot seems to have failed in her bid to keep the NFL’s Bears at their Near South Side homefield well within the city limits of Chicago.
Lightfoot has dangled $2.2 billion-worth Chicago’s tax dollars for renovations and additional construction to the nearly 100-year-old Soldier Field in hopes of keeping the team from leaving.
Nonetheless, the head honchoes for the Bears have ostensibly decided for the friendlier (and much less crime-ridden) confines of the well-to-do suburb of Arlington Heights, some 30 miles to the northwest of Soldier Field.
The Chicago Bears have rejected Mayor Lightfoot’s billion-dollar offer to improve their home stadium and are determined to relocate to a calmer, less crime-ridden area, the City of Chicago announced in a Tuesday press release.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot offered an incentive with a value of up to $2.2 billion in renovations to the Soldier Field stadium in hopes of convincing the Bears to stay in the city, according to the release.
Well within walking distance of Soldier Field.
The Bears dismissed Lightfoot’s upgrades to Soldier Field and made it clear that the only location for their new home turf would be in the city’s calmer suburbs, the team said in a statement reported by the Daily Herald.
The Bears purchased a $197.2 million, 326-acre property in Arlington Park from Churchill Downs Inc. in September 2021, according to a statement on the team’s website.
The Bears are not the only asset to ditch Chicago. Hundreds of thousands of Illinois residents and businesses have left Chicago due to the current state of the city.
Illinois’ population declined by 113,776 from July 1, 2020, through July 1, 2021, according to an Illinois policy report. Although people are fleeing Illinois from all around the state, the City of Chicago lost a total of 45,175 residents from July 2020-July 2021, the third-highest of any city in America.
Citadel, an investment firm that had been located in Chicago for over 30 years, recently announced it would be relocating to Florida.
Boeing, a multinational aerospace company, announced it would move its headquarters out of the city and into Arlington, Virginia, in May, according to NBC Chicago.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot unveiled plans for Soldier Field that could cost up to $2.2 billion as part of her ongoing campaign to keep the Bears from skipping town for Arlington Heights or at least deflect blame if the venerable sports team leaves.
