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Of 625 registered voters interviewed for the poll, 52% said the Bears should not move to Arlington Heights from Chicago, while 23% said the team should leave Soldier Field. Chicagoans were far more split on a follow-up question, with 51% saying they opposed public financing to renovate Solider Field, 42% saying they support it and 7% undecided.
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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The more interesting poll would be one that asks the season ticket holders if they want the Bears to remain in Chicago or move to the suburbs.
I have season tickets and I’m friends with others who have them as well. My circle of friends really don’t care either way. It’s great to tailgate on Sunday morning in the south lot or Waldron and have the great views of the city. However, a new stadium in Arlington Heights would have all the amenities. While the location may not mean that much to ticket holders I know, the real concern is for people that have PSLs at soldier field. Some of these people paid big money for these licenses and they will not transfer to a new stadium.… Read more »
I don’t know, but in my small, unrepresentative sample, everyone I know is excited about the Bears move. I have yet to meet anyone who thinks the Bears should stay in Chicago and this topic comes up often.
If the Bears were smart they would leave the State.
Read the Wirepoints article that says that each Chicago taxpayer is on the hook for $42K in pension debt and then poll these people of how interested they would be to get on the hook for the huge cost of rehabbing Solder Field.
Who cares?
Chicago is going south like Sherman. Bears would be wise to vacate. Let Lori sit in an empty Soldier Field and make more silly threats.