JB Pritzker Says That Bears Are Saying One Thing About Indiana Stadium Publicly, Different Thing Privately

The Chicago Bears' potential move across state lines from Illinois to Indiana has a lot of fans angry at their state and local government, so governor JB Pritzker is telling everyone the NFL team's implication it is moving was merely made to appease Indiana politicians and "not true."

The Bears, the governor told reporters on Thursday, are saying one thing publicly and another thing to him or his staff privately.

"Let me start with the fact that it was a surprise to us," Pritzker said at a news conference, referring to the Indiana House passing Senate Bill 27 that creates a public stadium authority with power to finance $2 billion for stadium construction and related facilities a few miles inside the state to lure the Bears out of Illinois.

Gov. JB Pritzker delivers the State of the State Address at the Illinois Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. Photo: USA Today/The State Journal-Register

Pritzker: Bears Told To Make Statement

"To have a statement put out by the Bears, now, they're saying to us that statement is not some confirmation that they're moving to Indiana, but rather that Indiana had asked them to say that, you know, they're going to move forward with the negotiations in Indiana.

"Again, the Bears, post-that, have said, 'Well, we didn't really mean,' that they're moving to Indiana, which is kind of the implication of it, but it's apparently not true."

That is a significantly different take on what the Bears' statement said. 

The statement:

"The passage of SB 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date," the Bears said in their statement. "We are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana. 

A sign welcomes motorists to Hammond, Indiana on Jan. 13, 2026. Indiana took another step Friday to potentially lure the Chicago Bears to the state with lawmakers set to consider creating an agency to build a new stadium for the team. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Why Is Pritzker Minimizing Bears Statement?

"We appreciate the leadership shown by Governor Braun, Speaker Huston, Senator Mishler and members of the Indiana General Assembly in establishing this critical framework and path forward to deliver a premier venue for all of Chicagoland and a destination for Bears fans and visitors from across the globe. 

"We value our partnership and look forward to continuing to build our working relationship together." 

So, either the Bears don't value their working relationship with the Indiana legislature that much, because they're privately telling Pritzker they only put out a statement to appease the Hoosiers … 

… or … 

…. Pritzker is minimizing the team's statement intentionally to soften the criticism of himself for being in a position to possibly lose the legacy NFL franchise to another state.

CHICAGO - Caleb Williams of the Chicago Bears celebrates after defeating the Carolina Panthers at Soldier Field on October 6, 2024. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

Bears Must Clarify Situation

Either way, the Bears will now be asked to clarify what they actually mean and intend to do. 

And it'll be interesting to hear if they are at all upset the Illinois governor is painting the words in their statement as having been put there by folks in Indiana.

The Bears apparently have some more explaining to do to both sides. 

"I have to say," Pritzker said, "it's very disappointing to hear that they [the Bears] would put that statement out, but not say anything about the advancement that's been made in the state of Illinois. But, you know, we're waiting to hear from the Bears what they'd like to do next."