Chicago mayor: No contact with Bears since April

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said he and executives from the Chicago Bears were negotiating a "term sheet" connected to a potential new stadium on the city's lakefront as recently as April, but his administration and the team have had no contact since then.

The details connected to the team's search for a new stadium site come just days after the Illinois Legislature's spring session ended without agreement on an incentive package designed to encourage the team to build a stadium on land it already owns in Arlington Heights, instead of accepting an offer to move to northwest Indiana.

"Bears fans deserve to enjoy the Bears on the lakefront," Mayor Johnson said during his appearance Wednesday on the "Rahimi, Harris And Grote" show on Audacy sister station 104.3 The Score.

He insisted that the plan he and Bears CEO Kevin Warren rolled out two years ago to remake the Museum Campus around a new domed stadium is still the only real plan on the table.

"We were working out a term sheet, because that's what you do in negotiations," the mayor said. "We were in some healthy conversations about what the organization needed."

And even though the mayor said he's been in what he called constant communication with Bears executives, he confirmed that contact ended more than a month ago.

"So no contact since April?" asked host Marshall Harris.

"No, not since April," the mayor responded. "What conclusion are you drawing from that?"

"You made it sound like it was ongoing," Harris responded. "That's why we were trying to fill in the gaps."

"April was last month!" the mayor exclaimed. "It was last month before session ended!"

Lawmakers in Springfield say that contact between the Bears and the city played a role in the failure to reach agreement on incentives aimed at what the Bears have claimed is their preferred site in Arlington Heights. Chicago state Senate Democrat Bill Cunningham told 104.3 The Score on Tuesday that negotiations with the Bears have been "frustrating."

The team still has not commented on the latest developments beyond a short statement saying they'll have an update once they announce their decision between Arlington Park and Hammond.