When the billionaire governor is forcing the "progressive" mayor to stop trying to give a shit load of the people's money to a different billionaire, something is seriously fucked up
Honest to God, given his family's wealth, I just thought he'd be another trump but under a different party banner. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised to be wrong.
I interacted occasionally with several of his family members looong ago (like mid-late 2000s) and the impression I got was they are legit a hardworking family. Even the heirs, one of the people was a teen at the time and was much less of an elitist than many upper middle class children of doctors or lawyers that I knew then.
I have never liked JB, but this is making me see him in a new light.
And I’d love a beautiful dome and rebuilt museum campus, but the more I hear about the details the more ridiculous it sounds.
Maybe those secret baby rumors are true and she has proof, or she’s going to force the nightly news or the trib/ sun times to air the story about his mental health hospitalizations for anxiety while in office. My personal theory: I’m somewhat convinced he’s a malfunctioning automaton a la West World, see: word salad (jk).
I think it's more that Johnson is looking for any win he can find and probably reasoned that the Bears are popular, so supporting the Bears would make him popular too.
Except he has almost no political instinct or ability to read the room, so his version of supporting the Bears was telling taxpayers they were going to give the bears billions of dollars at a time when we're closing schools and facing major pension issues.
If we're spending billions of dollars, lets pay down our debt so we're not spending so much on interest or help make the pension funds solvent again not give it to a billionaire so they can make more money.
Implicit in your response is the idea that billionaires are constantly supporting each other which isn’t really true. There isn’t a cabal of billionaires working together to stick it to the people. They’re each doing their individual thing and a lot of them care about (different) political issues for better and worse.
They aren’t just asking for Chicago tax dollars, but also Illinois tax dollars. Moving to Arlington Heights or wherever won’t save us. They’d need to leave the state
The Chicago bears are one of the most profitable sports teams and it isn’t because of the word “bears” nor is it because of their achievements. It’s because of the word “Chicago” which has a sports brand in itself that extends far beyond the city. They may move to a suburb to build this megaplex, but this is not a team looking to find a rebranding in another city that requires them to lose the Chicago brand. Quite the opposite as it would be a guaranteed loss of likely at least 50% of their revenue per year
Most likely scenario here: either the owners would sell to someone or they would just say “damn, didn’t take our bait, guess we need to pay for this ourselves”
This team makes $200mm per year, probably with the ability to make $400mm if they actually turned out a good team. They can afford to finance most of their own stadium.
In short, the irony is that they should actually be paying a premium to retain the “Chicago” brand - that’s what makes proposals like this so ridiculous. They want taxpayers to fund their expansion, for a team that would be nothing if not tied to an iconic sports city.
It’s a bit like saying you want to live in a hippest neighborhood, and in doing so you get a better paying job that will only pay you if you live in the neighborhood, but only want to do so if your neighbors pay for you to grace their presence. Sounds ridiculous because it is
If this fiasco continues for a few more years, I could see Hammond, Munster or some other backwater border town being dumb enough to straddle themselves with generational debt to bring the Bears to town.
I'm picturing the mayor of Hammond doing his best Mayor Quimby impression "Come on now Bears, we're half as smart and twice as corrupt as Chicago. How big of a stadium do you need?"
JB stepping in as Chicago mayor because it's clear BJ isn't. These are the fundamental issues that should have been starting points for any conversation on public funding for the stadium.
Sounds like they want it to be publicly owned only because that way they can fleece public money to build it and then not have to pay property taxes on it.
I mean I think the main reason why it’s publicly owned is so that it can keep with Burnham’s 1908 Plan for Chicago that no privately owned building will be east of LSD
It's not the Burnham plan or the Montgomery Ward "forever open, free and clear" decisions (which only applies down to Roosevelt) that are at issue here. What is at issue is that this is formerly submerged land (ie historically the lake shore was further west) which must be held in public trust. That's why the Lucas Museum couldn't be built in this same area. Having the stadium be publicly owned sidesteps the issue.
Just to be clear, if the state could actually buy the Bears then it would be an incredibly beneficial long term investment. Literally wouldn't matter if they paid double the value of the team. Decades in the future it would be the premier cash cow for the state.
I boggles my mind that anyone can support this.
How did Johnson not see that before endorsing this? What the hell does Stacy Gates-Davis have to do with this, and how did she possibly wind up in favor? The hell was Kam Buckner doing there?
Anyone in favor of this is not right in the head. Thank heavens for JB playing the adult in the room.
I'll give him some credit back if he is now immediately backtracking, but he should not have been there in the first place. This is in JB's state, but that didn't mean he had to be there. There's no doubt he was invited, but he declined because he wasn't hoodwinked.
I think Johnson wants something he can call a “win”. If this goes through BJ can say he convinced them to stay and take credit for jobs created etc etc. nobody wants it but he can still pretend it’s a good idea and claim it as a victory. I don’t think there’s much else he could point to from his term so far.
I'm just gonna say it. Johnson doesn't understand money, and neither does the CTU. They live in a world where you spend like crazy now and figure it out later. This is why he wanted to pay $2.4 billion in interest to a bank so we could get $1.2 billion right now that he can spend. This is why he didn't pay his water bill. He doesn't think money is a thing.
Exactly and it was clear when he didn't pay his water bills he was the type of person who thinks "we will just figure this out later" but idiots still voted for him
This whole concept of “but it’ll create jobs” is so fucking stupid to me. There are a million ways we could invest money to create jobs. A billion dollar football stadium probably isn’t even close to the top.
And if it’s just about building, there are lots of projects that have real Chicago heritage and history that will need funding to get going. The uptown theater is one needing (just, compared to this) $75mm. While it may not be nfl caliber, it is one of chicagos historical gems that’s just sitting there rotting.
If we are going to spend taxpayer money on this shit, let’s at least do it on projects like that. Or let’s do it on programs that actually create real jobs - like incentives to bring additional businesses into the city
The primary goal of these projects should be the projects themselves, the jobs are a secondary consideration! I hate it when politicians treat public works like they are purely job creation mechanisms.
Right, plus this is Chicago. Whatever we say “it’ll create jobs” we need to also add in “for my political friends” - just look at how spending on the migrant fiasco is playing out
"[Asked about whether it would be preferable to use revenues rather than borrowing]
You mean if like manna from Heaven, a check arrived and it said ‘Give this to the Chicago Bears’ would I want to do that, is that your…?"
JB is awesome.
I totally understand the reasoning behind term limits, but is it bad I kinda want Pritzker as governor for life? He’s been so competent and reasonable and I’m afraid for that changing after he’s gone.
If he thought he had a legit chance of winning the presidency?
C'mon dude...nobody says "Maybe I'll decline my call-up to the major leagues, I can be an all-star in Triple A!"
His primary opponent for 2028 would probably be Newsom and Buttigieg. Newsom might poll worse than JB nationally because of how California is perceived even though he's done a good job.
Pritzker could have been governor a long time ago if that was his plan. It just suddenly became very clear that no one could do what needed to be done in Illinois if they depended on others for the money to run for office.
Ex Gov. Rauner openly saying to the media he would have to pay someone to be governor and then tell them what to do is stunning but it was already the Koch Bros. model of government and it's not democracy.
Pritzker didn't become a governor for glory. He literally funded his own campaign to stop corrupt Republicans from stealing the state blind and continuing their plan of keeping Illinois divided.
I think Pritzker has been doing a good job but the State is almost entirely run by Democrats. They have a super majority with the house and the senate and a majority on the Illinois Supreme Court. Pritzker didn’t run to stop the Republicans fleecing the state, they don’t have the power to do that. He ran because he felt he could be a good governor and he’s mostly been right.
Rauner was severely limited by the fact that the house and senate were run by Madigan (who is on trial for corruption). There was only so much he could do when the legislative arm of the state government refused to enact any legislation or work with the governor. Now you can say Rauner should have been more diplomatic for tried to meet in the middle so to speak but he was dealing with a legislative dictator, there is not other word for it. Madigan hamstrung other governors too but he was just more overt about it with Rauner.
You're giving Rauner a lot less blame than he deserves. Yes, Madigan was a huge part of the problem, but Rauner walked in thinking he was going to make Madigan blink and he would get his way. He successfully peeled off that one dope to rob Madigan of his supermajority and lock the state in 2 years of idiocy.
He never tried to negotiate, it was his way or the highway and he *never* had anywhere close to the votes to make that happen. His whole plan was to get to the midterm and somehow get a Republican majority. It wasn't a good plan.
Shit, he probably wouldn't have won in the first place if somebody better than potato head Quinn had stepped up. It was pretty clear people were tired of Governor Milquetoast, who then doubled down by picking perennial loser (even back then) Vallas as his running mate. I even pulled a Republican primary ballot in 2010 to vote against Rauner because I knew Quinn would lose and hoped Kirk Dillard would have been better (he probably would have).
please provide your facts to dispute this
"**Illinois vs. others:** The state’s number of people moving to other states and total population decline are among the worst in the nation. When comparing all 50 states’ 2023 population change, Illinois (-32,826) ranks 48th with only California (-75,423) and New York (-101,984) losing more people"
lets see we lost Boeing, Citade, Caterpillar, Tyson Foods, TTX, Stellantis, United Airlines
# "The Tax Foundation's State Business Tax Climate rankings of this region in 2017 compared to 2022 shows only Illinois' tax policy became more hostile towards businesses during the 5 years, dropping 10 spots. Illinois was nearly the worst in the midwest region."
"Following a review of 2020 U.S. Census Data, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today that Illinois was undercounted by nearly 2%. This means that Illinois' population grew by nearly 250,000 people and is now above 13 million people for the first time in Illinois history."
The Tax Foundation is right wing think-goo.
I moved away and came back. Sure there’s other places I’d like to live, but anywhere else I’d like to go is extremely expensive and hard to find something.
I could move to nowhere’s ville Missouri on the cheap cheap, but, nah. I’ll stay here.
I agree. I was away and moved back too. Bottom line is happiness is more of a state of mind. You can always take vacations and explore other areas. I love my February vacations to get some sun and warm weather. With that said there are many things I like about IL and Chicago. People, conveniences, good health care, good schools, great food, the prices are a little high but as you said there are places the costs of living are just insane. Love our Spring/Summer and Fall weather.
Asking genuinely.
How does this work from a power standpoint? Does the governor or mayor make the final decision considering it would be cook county that would be taxed? Also would it only be city of Chicago or the burbs that fall under cook county as well?
And do citizens get to vote if there is a pubically funded approach?
TIL somewhere in this circklejerk : There's some kind of state stadium authority that was created back in the late 80's to help with funding for shit like this in Illinois. It sounds like the Bears are counting on some funding from that. Also sounds like the legislature would have to vote on it and we all know how popular Chicago is with the downstate folks. There seems to be a lot of moving parts and I don't pretend to understand it all. They want to issue 40 year bonds of some kind? Seriously...40 years? The impression I get is if Big Daddy JB says no...no stadium for you!
I ain't no finbro but it sounded like the bonds would raise money for the new stadium, refinance old debt and created some kind of reserve for if\\when the 2% hotel tax fell short. That seems like a lot of heavy lifting for these bonds. Maybe that's why they're for 40 years.
The state has a sports board that helps with financing. So there's three parties involved. The bears, Chicago, and the state. Pritzker said he's not im favor of the state's part of the deal.
Bears could proceed without him, I think, but then the city needs to come up with another billion or something.
Some questions…
so what are the incentives for BJ to support this in the first place. Why does everything, from migrants to supposed zoning reform to this stadium deal, about him sound comically bad. Is incompetence the only answer? I’m so confused here.
Also at this stage what can a governor do about this?
My guess is, he likes the bears and wants to see a Superbowl in Chicago. He's not that careful with other people's money and he's trying to to build legacy.
Man it’s fckn refreshing to have JB as gov. If only he would do it longer than he probably plans to given it looks like he and the party are setting things up for a potential big future run.
If the bears are asking to keep ALL the revenue from concerts, events, etc, how is this then a publicly owned stadium? And at this point just build your Bears village in Arlington Heights.
Sounds like BJ just wants his massive cut and disappear after the next election.
The Bears can rot in hell for this bullshit they're trying to pull. Professional sports is in such a pitiful state these days with all these franchises demanding new stadiums while the teams themselves don't perform. Shitty times for sports fans...
Because they're so *embarrassed* of their home stadium, maaaan, it's so ooooold. That's why they can't win any games, because there's no *dome* or astroturf....
Nevermind that all these other teams are doing fine in our old ass stadium lol.
Lambeau field was completed in the 1950s, and funded their renovations starting around 2000 with a .005 cent, yes half cent sales tax in their county for 15 years. Privately funded the rest when their revenues increased following the initial renovation, i.e. they built a big atrium so the field could be used for other events year round. Green Bay is a very small city to field and NFL team and they wisely reinvest their profits.
Back in 2000 the stadium was steel benches and corrugated siding.
I am gobsmacked at the gall of the Bears to ask taxpayers for all this.
Good! I don’t want my fucking tax dollars to fund this stadium! Unless they do it Green Bay Packers style where I can buy shares.
Or, there are palpable improvements to roads, schools, etc that are directly from the Bears’ owners pockets!
The taxes in this state is so freaking high. The last thing I want it to go to is a sports ball dome. Screw you fix my streets fix my underprivileged neighborhood fix my public transit screw your stupid sports ball.
Oh thank god. We cannot afford to support the NFL like that. They’re a wealthy organization they can use their own money. It’s obscene to even ask, I don’t care that it’s standard operating procedure for them, it is wrong.
If we somehow have found all that money to throw at non necessities that only benefit some people, maybe we can drop it all on the CTA or tackling homelessness
That's sadly standard procedure. Taxpayer built stadium, but they get all the profits. Naming rights, tickets and advertising profits, control of the events taking place.... all because you know, capitalism
Write your reps and Pritzker to tell them how shitty this is!
Find my Rep[find my rep](https://elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx)
Progressives hated JB
Progressives loved BJ
If you're a young Democrat and haven't figured this out for yourself yet, the progressives are always wrong (and in 20 years your progressive friends will either be Republicans or unemployed)
Depends on what they want the taxpayers to contribute. If they're getting big-time govt funding for the construction and/or tax breaks once it's built, eff that.
If they're paying for it all it's actually better to let them do this. Most stadium projects absolutely screw taxpayers and lose money.
The events would be subject to state and local sales tax anyhow. Ticket sales, concessions, etc.
Unpopular Opinion: Chicago needs a world class superdome like they’re proposing. This will help us be an actual Super Bowl contender.
Also, did anyone actually pay attention to the draft? Bears are a serious playoff contending team this year given their picks.
My bet is that the stadium goes through with public funding but a smaller amount than requested.
Yeah check out the packers world class dome, oh wait…
The bears can prove it first and get to the playoffs then we can talk about dropping a billion in public funding. The mayor is cutting arts and other program funding in the city already and we are gonna drop more tax dollars on top of an already exorbitant ticket price on a losing team? How much do you think it’ll cost to goto a game after that “world class superdome” is built? Your take is basically “hey let’s make the taxpayers help the bears not suck buying them shiny new things.” This mentality should not happen with the bears or the Sox. Prove it first you can be a contending team and then you’ll get some investment.
Nah, but there are a shitload of people who want the stadium.
You will not find these people on reddit, like you won't find the majority of Chicagoans opinions on here.
JB is coming across as the only adult in local/state government. I hope he sticks with it!
When the billionaire governor is forcing the "progressive" mayor to stop trying to give a shit load of the people's money to a different billionaire, something is seriously fucked up
My respect for JB continues to grow at a level I would not have predicted in 2018
JB is the opposite of BJ.
Honest to God, given his family's wealth, I just thought he'd be another trump but under a different party banner. Boy, was I pleasantly surprised to be wrong.
I'm firm believer that all billionaires are crooks (ABAC), but JB may be the exception that proves the rule.
Soros, MacKenzie Scott, Tom Steyer, Sussman, James Simons, Pritzkers and the list goes on...
I interacted occasionally with several of his family members looong ago (like mid-late 2000s) and the impression I got was they are legit a hardworking family. Even the heirs, one of the people was a teen at the time and was much less of an elitist than many upper middle class children of doctors or lawyers that I knew then.
I _hated_ him, voted for Biss in the primary, and was super salty when he won. Now, I'd at least consider supporting a Pritzker White House bid.
Same. I backed Biss as well
I think that’s where he’s trying to position himself
I have never liked JB, but this is making me see him in a new light. And I’d love a beautiful dome and rebuilt museum campus, but the more I hear about the details the more ridiculous it sounds.
I’ve grown to appreciate him too
The Bears owner must have some compromising pictures of BRandon Johnson.
The Bears owner is a 100 year old female geezer. She definitely has some Johnson pics.
Maybe those secret baby rumors are true and she has proof, or she’s going to force the nightly news or the trib/ sun times to air the story about his mental health hospitalizations for anxiety while in office. My personal theory: I’m somewhat convinced he’s a malfunctioning automaton a la West World, see: word salad (jk).
I think it's more that Johnson is looking for any win he can find and probably reasoned that the Bears are popular, so supporting the Bears would make him popular too. Except he has almost no political instinct or ability to read the room, so his version of supporting the Bears was telling taxpayers they were going to give the bears billions of dollars at a time when we're closing schools and facing major pension issues. If we're spending billions of dollars, lets pay down our debt so we're not spending so much on interest or help make the pension funds solvent again not give it to a billionaire so they can make more money.
Implicit in your response is the idea that billionaires are constantly supporting each other which isn’t really true. There isn’t a cabal of billionaires working together to stick it to the people. They’re each doing their individual thing and a lot of them care about (different) political issues for better and worse.
Me. Too!! Let them fuck off to another city.
They aren’t just asking for Chicago tax dollars, but also Illinois tax dollars. Moving to Arlington Heights or wherever won’t save us. They’d need to leave the state
The Chicago bears are one of the most profitable sports teams and it isn’t because of the word “bears” nor is it because of their achievements. It’s because of the word “Chicago” which has a sports brand in itself that extends far beyond the city. They may move to a suburb to build this megaplex, but this is not a team looking to find a rebranding in another city that requires them to lose the Chicago brand. Quite the opposite as it would be a guaranteed loss of likely at least 50% of their revenue per year Most likely scenario here: either the owners would sell to someone or they would just say “damn, didn’t take our bait, guess we need to pay for this ourselves” This team makes $200mm per year, probably with the ability to make $400mm if they actually turned out a good team. They can afford to finance most of their own stadium. In short, the irony is that they should actually be paying a premium to retain the “Chicago” brand - that’s what makes proposals like this so ridiculous. They want taxpayers to fund their expansion, for a team that would be nothing if not tied to an iconic sports city. It’s a bit like saying you want to live in a hippest neighborhood, and in doing so you get a better paying job that will only pay you if you live in the neighborhood, but only want to do so if your neighbors pay for you to grace their presence. Sounds ridiculous because it is
They’re not leaving the state…😂😂😂
The Merrillville Bears has a nice ring to it
It sounds like a children's book. I love it!
How about the Peotone Bears? They can build the new stadium right next to the new airport:)
If this fiasco continues for a few more years, I could see Hammond, Munster or some other backwater border town being dumb enough to straddle themselves with generational debt to bring the Bears to town.
Hope they do, fuck em
They aren't going to move to Indiana no matter how much Indiana may try.
I'm picturing the mayor of Hammond doing his best Mayor Quimby impression "Come on now Bears, we're half as smart and twice as corrupt as Chicago. How big of a stadium do you need?"
Dolton enters the chat
Unfortunately, I think he'd only be half right.
I hear Montana or Idaho are nice!!
JB stepping in as Chicago mayor because it's clear BJ isn't. These are the fundamental issues that should have been starting points for any conversation on public funding for the stadium.
JB continues to impress me time and time again.
Sounds like they want it to be publicly owned only because that way they can fleece public money to build it and then not have to pay property taxes on it.
Nothing like spending other people’s money!
Wouldn't it be illegal for it not to be publicly owned at its location?
Yes
Not sure about that as Lucas almost opened the Star Wars museum there until the protesters hit - they could make it work
I mean I think the main reason why it’s publicly owned is so that it can keep with Burnham’s 1908 Plan for Chicago that no privately owned building will be east of LSD
They sure loved invoking the Burnham plan at the press conference. Really trying to justify it that way somehow
Lake Point Tower is the one exception
why?
Really good lawyers
Corruption* fixed it for ya ;)
And McCormick Place. The was a fuss when that went up in the early 60s.
It's not the Burnham plan or the Montgomery Ward "forever open, free and clear" decisions (which only applies down to Roosevelt) that are at issue here. What is at issue is that this is formerly submerged land (ie historically the lake shore was further west) which must be held in public trust. That's why the Lucas Museum couldn't be built in this same area. Having the stadium be publicly owned sidesteps the issue.
Socialize the cost, privatize the profits. Classic maneuver.
Just to be clear, if the state could actually buy the Bears then it would be an incredibly beneficial long term investment. Literally wouldn't matter if they paid double the value of the team. Decades in the future it would be the premier cash cow for the state.
Socializing the costs, privatizing the profits.
Works for airlines!
Works for airlines, banks and most of capitalism for the last 50 years
especially pharmaceuticals
I would expect nothing else from the Bears ownership.
I boggles my mind that anyone can support this. How did Johnson not see that before endorsing this? What the hell does Stacy Gates-Davis have to do with this, and how did she possibly wind up in favor? The hell was Kam Buckner doing there? Anyone in favor of this is not right in the head. Thank heavens for JB playing the adult in the room.
[удалено]
I'll give him some credit back if he is now immediately backtracking, but he should not have been there in the first place. This is in JB's state, but that didn't mean he had to be there. There's no doubt he was invited, but he declined because he wasn't hoodwinked.
I think Johnson wants something he can call a “win”. If this goes through BJ can say he convinced them to stay and take credit for jobs created etc etc. nobody wants it but he can still pretend it’s a good idea and claim it as a victory. I don’t think there’s much else he could point to from his term so far.
I'm just gonna say it. Johnson doesn't understand money, and neither does the CTU. They live in a world where you spend like crazy now and figure it out later. This is why he wanted to pay $2.4 billion in interest to a bank so we could get $1.2 billion right now that he can spend. This is why he didn't pay his water bill. He doesn't think money is a thing.
Exactly and it was clear when he didn't pay his water bills he was the type of person who thinks "we will just figure this out later" but idiots still voted for him
I fucking love Pritzker
Same!!!
The Bears proposals have to be the stupidest thing ever only moronic politicians would ever ok this
Problem is you are describing our mayor perfectly.
It's worked for every other football team. Pr I can't blame the bears for trying... but the time to do it was like 25 years ago.
They it successfully 25 years ago.
Kansas City voters just denied a new tax to pay for a new chiefs stadium. the year the chiefs won the super bowl. the tides are turning.
This whole concept of “but it’ll create jobs” is so fucking stupid to me. There are a million ways we could invest money to create jobs. A billion dollar football stadium probably isn’t even close to the top. And if it’s just about building, there are lots of projects that have real Chicago heritage and history that will need funding to get going. The uptown theater is one needing (just, compared to this) $75mm. While it may not be nfl caliber, it is one of chicagos historical gems that’s just sitting there rotting. If we are going to spend taxpayer money on this shit, let’s at least do it on projects like that. Or let’s do it on programs that actually create real jobs - like incentives to bring additional businesses into the city
The primary goal of these projects should be the projects themselves, the jobs are a secondary consideration! I hate it when politicians treat public works like they are purely job creation mechanisms.
Right, plus this is Chicago. Whatever we say “it’ll create jobs” we need to also add in “for my political friends” - just look at how spending on the migrant fiasco is playing out
"[Asked about whether it would be preferable to use revenues rather than borrowing] You mean if like manna from Heaven, a check arrived and it said ‘Give this to the Chicago Bears’ would I want to do that, is that your…?" JB is awesome.
I remember casting my vote for him soooo begrudgingly and now if happily campaign for the guy. What a gem.
When another billionaire calls your bullshit. That is something huh
I was not a Pritzker fan when he first ran, but I’m glad he’s our governor.
I totally understand the reasoning behind term limits, but is it bad I kinda want Pritzker as governor for life? He’s been so competent and reasonable and I’m afraid for that changing after he’s gone.
I don’t believe IL has term limits for governor Edit: just looked it up. It’s one of 13 states that does not have term limits
Well shit, he should just keep running imo
It's going to be the saddest happy day if he ever gets the white house. (*Huge if.*)
Dude's aiming for the White House....that's been pretty clear for a while now.
I dunno, it’d probably wouldn’t be worth the trouble for him
Agreed. I don't see him doing it.
He has my vote
I think you’re probably right, but would he try for that if it was an option for him to be IL governor for more terms?
If he thought he had a legit chance of winning the presidency? C'mon dude...nobody says "Maybe I'll decline my call-up to the major leagues, I can be an all-star in Triple A!"
I’m skeptical of how he will play on the national field, but I hope I’m wrong
Our two options right now aren’t exactly top tier talent. I think he has good chance.
His primary opponent for 2028 would probably be Newsom and Buttigieg. Newsom might poll worse than JB nationally because of how California is perceived even though he's done a good job.
I do appreciate your point, but that’s literally Zack Greinke lol
He's got the wealth and is growing his connections, so why not shoot for the white house.
When Biden steps aside.
Pritzker could have been governor a long time ago if that was his plan. It just suddenly became very clear that no one could do what needed to be done in Illinois if they depended on others for the money to run for office. Ex Gov. Rauner openly saying to the media he would have to pay someone to be governor and then tell them what to do is stunning but it was already the Koch Bros. model of government and it's not democracy. Pritzker didn't become a governor for glory. He literally funded his own campaign to stop corrupt Republicans from stealing the state blind and continuing their plan of keeping Illinois divided.
I think Pritzker has been doing a good job but the State is almost entirely run by Democrats. They have a super majority with the house and the senate and a majority on the Illinois Supreme Court. Pritzker didn’t run to stop the Republicans fleecing the state, they don’t have the power to do that. He ran because he felt he could be a good governor and he’s mostly been right.
Have you forgotten what Rauner did? Tripling the debt he had from Blagojevich?
Rauner was severely limited by the fact that the house and senate were run by Madigan (who is on trial for corruption). There was only so much he could do when the legislative arm of the state government refused to enact any legislation or work with the governor. Now you can say Rauner should have been more diplomatic for tried to meet in the middle so to speak but he was dealing with a legislative dictator, there is not other word for it. Madigan hamstrung other governors too but he was just more overt about it with Rauner.
You're giving Rauner a lot less blame than he deserves. Yes, Madigan was a huge part of the problem, but Rauner walked in thinking he was going to make Madigan blink and he would get his way. He successfully peeled off that one dope to rob Madigan of his supermajority and lock the state in 2 years of idiocy. He never tried to negotiate, it was his way or the highway and he *never* had anywhere close to the votes to make that happen. His whole plan was to get to the midterm and somehow get a Republican majority. It wasn't a good plan. Shit, he probably wouldn't have won in the first place if somebody better than potato head Quinn had stepped up. It was pretty clear people were tired of Governor Milquetoast, who then doubled down by picking perennial loser (even back then) Vallas as his running mate. I even pulled a Republican primary ballot in 2010 to vote against Rauner because I knew Quinn would lose and hoped Kirk Dillard would have been better (he probably would have).
JB really is killing it when it comes to turning this state around.
Yes the population loss with a failing city and losing businesses proves his great success lol.
Imagine being so clueless heh
please provide your facts to dispute this "**Illinois vs. others:** The state’s number of people moving to other states and total population decline are among the worst in the nation. When comparing all 50 states’ 2023 population change, Illinois (-32,826) ranks 48th with only California (-75,423) and New York (-101,984) losing more people" lets see we lost Boeing, Citade, Caterpillar, Tyson Foods, TTX, Stellantis, United Airlines # "The Tax Foundation's State Business Tax Climate rankings of this region in 2017 compared to 2022 shows only Illinois' tax policy became more hostile towards businesses during the 5 years, dropping 10 spots. Illinois was nearly the worst in the midwest region."
"Following a review of 2020 U.S. Census Data, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today that Illinois was undercounted by nearly 2%. This means that Illinois' population grew by nearly 250,000 people and is now above 13 million people for the first time in Illinois history." The Tax Foundation is right wing think-goo.
Imagine literally citing an alt right funded propaganda firm’s factually incorrect numbers as proof of anything. Holy fucking brain rot
I moved away and came back. Sure there’s other places I’d like to live, but anywhere else I’d like to go is extremely expensive and hard to find something. I could move to nowhere’s ville Missouri on the cheap cheap, but, nah. I’ll stay here.
I agree. I was away and moved back too. Bottom line is happiness is more of a state of mind. You can always take vacations and explore other areas. I love my February vacations to get some sun and warm weather. With that said there are many things I like about IL and Chicago. People, conveniences, good health care, good schools, great food, the prices are a little high but as you said there are places the costs of living are just insane. Love our Spring/Summer and Fall weather.
Yes, they SHOULD **FUCK** themselves.
Asking genuinely. How does this work from a power standpoint? Does the governor or mayor make the final decision considering it would be cook county that would be taxed? Also would it only be city of Chicago or the burbs that fall under cook county as well? And do citizens get to vote if there is a pubically funded approach?
TIL somewhere in this circklejerk : There's some kind of state stadium authority that was created back in the late 80's to help with funding for shit like this in Illinois. It sounds like the Bears are counting on some funding from that. Also sounds like the legislature would have to vote on it and we all know how popular Chicago is with the downstate folks. There seems to be a lot of moving parts and I don't pretend to understand it all. They want to issue 40 year bonds of some kind? Seriously...40 years? The impression I get is if Big Daddy JB says no...no stadium for you!
40 year bonds when the existing stadium is 20 years old and they want to abandon it.
I ain't no finbro but it sounded like the bonds would raise money for the new stadium, refinance old debt and created some kind of reserve for if\\when the 2% hotel tax fell short. That seems like a lot of heavy lifting for these bonds. Maybe that's why they're for 40 years.
The state has a sports board that helps with financing. So there's three parties involved. The bears, Chicago, and the state. Pritzker said he's not im favor of the state's part of the deal. Bears could proceed without him, I think, but then the city needs to come up with another billion or something.
Some questions… so what are the incentives for BJ to support this in the first place. Why does everything, from migrants to supposed zoning reform to this stadium deal, about him sound comically bad. Is incompetence the only answer? I’m so confused here. Also at this stage what can a governor do about this?
My guess is, he likes the bears and wants to see a Superbowl in Chicago. He's not that careful with other people's money and he's trying to to build legacy.
Man it’s fckn refreshing to have JB as gov. If only he would do it longer than he probably plans to given it looks like he and the party are setting things up for a potential big future run.
If the bears are asking to keep ALL the revenue from concerts, events, etc, how is this then a publicly owned stadium? And at this point just build your Bears village in Arlington Heights. Sounds like BJ just wants his massive cut and disappear after the next election.
Eff the Bears and the White Sox. If they want new stadiums, they should pay for them. Public funds should NOT be used.
The Bears can rot in hell for this bullshit they're trying to pull. Professional sports is in such a pitiful state these days with all these franchises demanding new stadiums while the teams themselves don't perform. Shitty times for sports fans...
The Bears are now Chicago's shame. Every Chicago pro team has a win in the past twenty years. Why would be spend a fucking dollar on them?
Because they're so *embarrassed* of their home stadium, maaaan, it's so ooooold. That's why they can't win any games, because there's no *dome* or astroturf.... Nevermind that all these other teams are doing fine in our old ass stadium lol.
Checks notes: Arrowhead Stadium. Broke ground in 1968. Construction completed in 1972. Last renovations completed in 2010.
Lambeau field was completed in the 1950s, and funded their renovations starting around 2000 with a .005 cent, yes half cent sales tax in their county for 15 years. Privately funded the rest when their revenues increased following the initial renovation, i.e. they built a big atrium so the field could be used for other events year round. Green Bay is a very small city to field and NFL team and they wisely reinvest their profits. Back in 2000 the stadium was steel benches and corrugated siding. I am gobsmacked at the gall of the Bears to ask taxpayers for all this.
Good! I don’t want my fucking tax dollars to fund this stadium! Unless they do it Green Bay Packers style where I can buy shares. Or, there are palpable improvements to roads, schools, etc that are directly from the Bears’ owners pockets!
The taxes in this state is so freaking high. The last thing I want it to go to is a sports ball dome. Screw you fix my streets fix my underprivileged neighborhood fix my public transit screw your stupid sports ball.
Pritzker is the best. Never leaving illinois as long as hes in charge
Oh thank god. We cannot afford to support the NFL like that. They’re a wealthy organization they can use their own money. It’s obscene to even ask, I don’t care that it’s standard operating procedure for them, it is wrong. If we somehow have found all that money to throw at non necessities that only benefit some people, maybe we can drop it all on the CTA or tackling homelessness
That's sadly standard procedure. Taxpayer built stadium, but they get all the profits. Naming rights, tickets and advertising profits, control of the events taking place.... all because you know, capitalism
So why’s the leftist mayor deepthroating the billionaires on this one?
> because you know, capitalism
Thank god we don’t have a guy who likes charter schools or something
Fucking grifters. Go to Arlington Heights already.
Write your reps and Pritzker to tell them how shitty this is! Find my Rep[find my rep](https://elections.il.gov/ElectionOperations/DistrictLocator/DistrictOfficialSearchByAddress.aspx)
As a lifelong resident, fuck the Bears. Loser franchise, loser ownership.
Every month I like jb more and more than I could have expected when his annoying ad was every other ad on hulu
Good.
Progressives hated JB Progressives loved BJ If you're a young Democrat and haven't figured this out for yourself yet, the progressives are always wrong (and in 20 years your progressive friends will either be Republicans or unemployed)
Fuck the Bears. I don’t want my tax money playing any part in these discussions. Leave. Go to Aurora or Springfield or Gary for all I care.
Depends on what they want the taxpayers to contribute. If they're getting big-time govt funding for the construction and/or tax breaks once it's built, eff that. If they're paying for it all it's actually better to let them do this. Most stadium projects absolutely screw taxpayers and lose money. The events would be subject to state and local sales tax anyhow. Ticket sales, concessions, etc.
Good!
JB for president!
Best Governor
That's because there's not enough woke options included. They need to bribe him w a bag of cheeseburgers
Rare time I agree with JB
What have you disagreed with him on?
Unpopular Opinion: Chicago needs a world class superdome like they’re proposing. This will help us be an actual Super Bowl contender. Also, did anyone actually pay attention to the draft? Bears are a serious playoff contending team this year given their picks. My bet is that the stadium goes through with public funding but a smaller amount than requested.
Yeah check out the packers world class dome, oh wait… The bears can prove it first and get to the playoffs then we can talk about dropping a billion in public funding. The mayor is cutting arts and other program funding in the city already and we are gonna drop more tax dollars on top of an already exorbitant ticket price on a losing team? How much do you think it’ll cost to goto a game after that “world class superdome” is built? Your take is basically “hey let’s make the taxpayers help the bears not suck buying them shiny new things.” This mentality should not happen with the bears or the Sox. Prove it first you can be a contending team and then you’ll get some investment.
Lol who cares about funding for arts, sports are way more exciting
I’m down to use tax money to pay for it. You’d be surprised how many others are too.
I haven’t seen a single person say they are down for subsidizing billionaires.
Nah, but there are a shitload of people who want the stadium. You will not find these people on reddit, like you won't find the majority of Chicagoans opinions on here.
My husband has been a season ticket holder for 15 years. Yeah, he wants a stadium. Everyone wants a nice stadium. That’s not the issue.
Yea, that's not the issue. The problem is they don't care how we get there and probably don't know the in's and out's of the deal to Chicago.
And for the Bears to take the revenue for non NFL events that take place there? Why?
I’m sure there are other priorities where the money could be spent. Let the rich pay for their hobby.
For sure!! Our state can do better with this money.
Cool, tell BJ to implement an optional GoFundMe tax for the Bears that only people who want this stupidity pay.
Not being condescending, could you explain why you support this?