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The Chicago Bears have had five years to make something happen on the new stadium front. Instead, they seem to have played the greatest hits for how not to conduct negotiations or handle the process in general. Team president Kevin Warren has bungled everything, from his constant flip-flopping on a direction to go, to his stubborn unwillingness to listen to people he literally pays to advise him. That’s how the organization finds itself stuck in a no-man’s land between Illinois and Indiana. One side is eager to lure them across the border, but doesn’t have the ideal property to offer. The other is run by a state government deeply fractured, with so many conflicting forces at play. Despite offering a pretty state-friendly deal where the Bears would pay for the entire stadium project themselves, it still hasn’t been enough. The only thing that would make it dumber would be if one of their key allies in the government got caught up in some sort of scandal. Well… The Chicago Bears sure can pick their friends. “Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch has been identified as a key player in the legislature as the Bears try to hammer out a deal that works for them. It’s probably fair to say he has been viewed as an ally of the Bears. Back in January, Welch posted photos on social media of himself with Warren and McCaskey at Soldier Field during the divisional playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams. The Bears might want their Arlington Heights project to be a front-burner item for Welch this summer, but he has been caught up in a political storm with a lot of questions regarding how he handled allegations of sexual harassment against former state Rep. Harry Benton. Welch was previously a considerable backer of Benton, a Democrat from Plainfield, so one could imagine he has been preoccupied in efforts to untangle himself from this mess.” Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune provided the update on this. Welch was the man who assured everybody after the legislative push in the spring failed that things would get worked out. So, of course, he finds himself in the crossfire for mishandling something as straightforward as sexual harassment allegations. This is the best guy the Bears could find to help them? No wonder they hired new lobbyists. It has become pretty clear their so-called allies in the House and Senate have done nothing for them. 🔥 Subscribe to the Untold Chicago YouTube channel to hear Chicago legends tell stories you’ve never seen in headlines — real moments, real experiences, straight from the athletes themselves. Nobody truly knows what the hell the Bears are doing. Getting a straight answer out of them is equivalent to nailing Jell-O to a wall. Warren has stated the same line for months now. They’re “focused” on Hammond, Indiana, and have had minimal contact with Illinois regarding legislation. At the same time, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with Governor J.B. Pritzker, immediately undermining everything the man said. The longer this goes on, the more the same thought keeps popping up. If Indiana’s offer were as good as some have been saying, the Chicago Bears would’ve taken it long ago. With each useless press conference and media update, it looks more and more like a leverage play. They don’t really want to go to Indiana. They want to build in Arlington Heights as originally planned. It just can’t get done without property tax and infrastructure support. So Indiana is being used as a threat to get as many concessions from Springfield as possible. The problem is that leverage plays don’t work very well if you have little understanding of how to navigate complex political waters. The McCaskey family has zero experience in that department, which is why they hired Warren. Unfortunately, it’s looking like he was less shrewd negotiator and more carnival barker. It feels like this business could last a long time. The November legislative session is the next opportunity in Illinois. That doesn’t feel like one to get your hopes up over. Thus, the wait continues.