JB Pritzker just handed Indiana a 106-year-old NFL franchise.
The Illinois governor had one job – keep the Chicago Bears in the state where they were born – and he chose illegal immigrants over his own team.
Brian Urlacher said it out loud, and now every Bears fan in America is talking about it.
The Numbers Pritzker Doesn't Want You to See
Illinois burned through $2.5 to $3.2 billion on migrants and illegal immigrants between 2022 and 2025.
That's not a typo.
The Illinois Public Policy Institute documented every dime – migrant welcome centers, free housing, emergency food, rental assistance, and a healthcare program that covered people here illegally while working Illinois families paid full freight for their own coverage.
Meanwhile, the Bears needed property tax certainty and public infrastructure funding to build a new stadium.
https://twitter.com/JackThompsonFOX/status/2065162307831804196?s=20
Illinois lawmakers watched the clock run out on their spring legislative session without passing a single bill to help.
The House adjourned.
The Bears' board of directors voted to advance their stadium project in Hammond, Indiana – the first board vote on any stadium site in franchise history.
Urlacher – the Hall of Fame linebacker who anchored the most feared defense in Bears history – didn't mince words when Fox News Digital asked him about it.
"You look at all the money they've given to illegal immigrants and the money they've set aside for that, it's like $2.5, $3 billion that they've spent on the illegal immigrants," Urlacher said. "That money could be trying to keep their stadium in town, instead of keeping people that aren't supposed to be in our country here."
Indiana Did in One Vote What Illinois Couldn't Do in Years
Indiana's legislature passed its Bears stadium bill 95-4 and put $1 billion in incentives on the table.
Illinois passed nothing.
Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott said the quiet part out loud.
"Let's just be honest: They can't get it done," McDermott said. "They haven't gotten it done, are not going to get it done."
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Indiana Gov. Mike Braun welcomed the Bears to "the great state of Indiana" within hours of the board vote.
The Bears committed $2 billion to the Hammond project, keep all revenue the stadium generates, and walk away owning the building outright in 40 years.
Urlacher understands the math even if it stings.
"Illinois is not giving them anything tax-wise," he said. "Indiana's offering them something better than what Illinois is, so why not go down to the great state of Indiana?"
This Is What Democrats Do to Every City They Run
Oakland lost the Raiders.
St. Louis lost the Rams.
San Diego lost the Chargers.
The pattern is always the same – Democrat-run cities drain their budgets on every priority except the ones that keep communities intact, then act shocked when businesses, teams, and taxpayers vote with their feet.
Illinois didn't just lose the Bears.
Illinois chose to lose the Bears.
Pritzker's administration spent over $1.6 billion on migrant healthcare alone – a figure that shattered every projection his office ever put forward.
The Washington Examiner documented that Illinois spent more on free healthcare for illegal immigrants in a single year than it spent on road repair, home-delivered meals for the elderly, foster care expansion, and the arts combined.
When Illinois Republicans demanded answers, Pritzker's office didn't respond.
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When they demanded cuts to migrant services to close the budget gap, Pritzker ignored them.
When the Bears needed the legislature to act, Pritzker watched the session expire.
Urlacher was direct about the governor's performance.
"Obviously not," Urlacher said when asked whether Pritzker had done enough to keep the team.
Pritzker Owns Every Inch of This
The Chicago Bears have played in Illinois for 106 years.
They're leaving because the Democrat who runs the state decided sanctuary politics mattered more than the franchise his people have cheered since before most of them were born.
The Bears had already purchased 326 acres in Arlington Heights – land in hand, ready to build.
Illinois Democrats just didn't care.
"They have the land bought already," Urlacher said. "Find a way to keep them there, and they have – they just don't care."
That's the thing about one-party Democrat control of a state.
Nobody's accountable.
Nobody faces consequences.
JB Pritzker will still be governor.
The Chicago Bears will be in Hammond, Indiana.
And Brian Urlacher said the four words that tell the whole story: "They just don't care."
Sources:
- Jackson Thompson, "Bears legend Brian Urlacher rips Illinois Dems as team prepares to leave Chicago," Fox News Digital, June 11, 2026.
- Illinois Public Policy Institute, "Think Illinois spends millions on migrants? Wrong. It spends billions," Illinois Policy, June 9, 2025.
- Washington Examiner, "Illinois spent more on healthcare for illegal immigrants than roads, foster kids, elderly, and the arts — combined," Washington Examiner, October 15, 2025.
- State Rep. Adam Niemerg, quoted in "IL prioritizes $3.2B for immigrants, leaves working families behind," The Center Square, May 16, 2025.
- Indiana Capital Chronicle, "Chicago Bears say they will advance stadium plans for northwest Indiana site," Indiana Capital Chronicle, June 5, 2026.
