(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — It might be a Hail Mary pass, but Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor has sent a letter to Chicago Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren to offer her city as the place to build a new multi-purpose stadium and entertainment complex.
Among the pluses Taylor laid out: Waukegan is located along Lake Michigan and has many large parcels of land — including lakefront property that’s within 20 minutes of Halas Hall, where the Bears practice.
The Bears noted earlier this month that it is no longer solely focused on building a new stadium in Arlington Heights. There has been tension over the tax assessment on the Arlington Park property, which the Bears purchased for $197 million.
Although the Bears did not directly respond to the Waukegan mayor’s letter, organization officials did say it was their “responsibility to listen to other municipalities in Chicagoland about potential locations.”
In her letter, Taylor noted that she felt it was “incumbent” on her as mayor to reach out to the Bears.
“The Bears have a rich history in Lake County,” Taylor wrote. “In addition to the current PNC Center at Halas Hall, the previous Halas Hall was also located in Lake County at Lake Forest College, a short trip down Sheridan Road.”
Waukegan was also once the home of Pro Football Hall of Famer Otto Graham, Taylor wrote. She added that Lake County has been home to generations of Bears players.
“Our working class and diverse community is as tough as the 1985 Super Bowl-winning bears, and our leadership team at Waukegan City Hall is as aggressive as Justin Fields running the ball,” she wrote.
The Bears have recently met with officials from Naperville and Chicago, but the expectation has remained that the Bears will move to Arlington Heights.
Dan Bernstein, a host at 670 The Score, was recently told by a source that the Bears are hoping to get the school districts around Arlington Heights to negotiate the tax rate.
The Bears claimed that the property’s original assessment came in five times higher than the 2021 tax value.
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