Chicago community groups join forces to oppose new Bears stadium on the lakefront

CHICAGO — A coalition of public groups joined forces Wednesday to oppose a new Chicago Bears stadium on the lakefront, saying the billions of dollars at stake would be better used for affordable housing, health care and improved neighborhood parks.

Friends of the Parks, which opposes private development of the lakefront, led the effort to organize about 20 community leaders and more than a dozen groups, including the Bronzeville Historical Society, Chicago Bird Alliance and the Sierra Club.

“While we would love the Chicago Bears to stay in the city, we object to the site they have selected and the ultimate cost to the city’s residents,” Friends of the Parks interim Executive Director Gin Kilgore said. “Ensuring Chicago’s lakefront remains forever open, clear and free is not the responsibility of one group, but the work of many.”

The Bears have proposed spending $2.3 billion to build a “state-of-the-art” enclosed stadium on parking lots just south of Soldier Field. They are seeking about $1.5 billion in taxpayer financing, and up to another $1.5 billion in public infrastructure.

The team has pitched the proposal as a way to generate significant economic development, though many economists warn that sports stadiums are a wasteful use of tax money.

The community groups gathered outside Soldier Field to call for a halt to the plans and urged a deliberate, open process to discuss options.

Friends of the Parks is a nonprofit group that has experience in this arena, having filed a lawsuit to successfully fight off the plans of Star Wars creator George Lucas for a museum on the same site.

Asked if they would file suit in this case, Kilgore said, “You never start with a lawsuit, but you don’t take it off the table either.”

The diverse groups participating included the People’s Council of SouthEast Chicago, People for Community Recovery and Landmarks Illinois. The environmental group Openlands has also come out against the new stadium.

“The people you see here also represent city leaders — the grassroot taxpayers who keep this city operating. That’s who we’re asking our elected officials to protect by ensuring Chicago’s lakefront remains ‘forever open, clear and free’ for future generations,” Kilgore said in a statement.

Community leaders took turns proposing better ways to spend tax dollars. Linda Gonzalez, of the People’s Council of SouthEast Chicago, called for an end to “ivory tower planning” to transfer funds to billionaires, and let taxpayers decide how to spend public money.

Cheryl Johnson, executive director of People for Community Recovery, said the money could be better used for air pollution monitoring, saying, “These resources can be beneficial to all of us.”

And Tom Tresser, of the TIF Illumination Project, which campaigns against tax increment financing diverting property taxes for private development, said the Bears proposal would subsidize a team that’s worth an estimated $6 billion. As he put it, “Stop the billionaires from stealing our stuff.”

The team did not immediately comment but have said that the publicly-owned stadium would enable other huge events such as concerts and the Super Bowl, generating billions of dollars in jobs and taxes. Economists object that stadiums sit empty most of the time, and provide mostly low-wage, often part-time jobs.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson supports the proposal. But Gov. JB Pritzker and legislative leaders do not. Pritzker called it a “non-starter,” saying the state has other priorities besides subsidizing this private business.

The Bears previously spent nearly $200 million to buy the former Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights for a domed stadium and massive multi-use development. But the team turned its focus to the lakefront after a dispute over property taxes on the suburban site, with team President Kevin Warren saying the lakefront was the ideal spot.

Other groups joining the opposition included Advocates for Morgan Shoal, Better Streets Chicago, Chicago Bike Grid Now!, Chicago Bird Alliance, Edgewater Beach Neighborhood Association, Jackson Park Watch, Kelly Park Advisory Council, One Community Near South, and Preservation Chicago.