Bringing the Chicago Bears to Bronzeville?

Do the Chicago Bears have another potential site in the city? Outgoing Congressman Danny Davis feels Bronzeville is the only place that the Bears should consider for a new stadium. Brett Boganski is live near 29th and Ellis. Now, Brett, Congressman Davis is talking about the former Michael Reese Hospital site. That's absolutely right. And Bears team president Kevin Warren said that this site was not viable. He said it was too narrow and that the NFL would never go for building a stadium on top of the Metro Railroad tracks. But Congressman Davis said, forget about all those things. You can still make this happen. And he's so passionate about this that he made the case. In a crane Chicago op-ed, and this was a letter that went to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for why this site, the former Michael Reese site here in Bronzeville, is perfect for the Chicago Bears. He said this would not only jumpstart the economy, but he said, you think about it, there's about... 49 acres right here, and more than 100 if you include the railroad tracks here. Obviously, you would have to build on them here. But he really feels like this is an economic driver for this whole area. It's also on private land, so you don't have to worry about the lakefront protection ordinance. Davis feels this investment is long overdue for Bronzeville and a place he feels like it's been overlooked. For decades, but he did acknowledge the challenges of building a stadium here. This is next to one of the largest apartment complexes in the city, which is Prairie Shores Complex. So there's a question of would any residents be displaced as a result of a bare stadium? And you may remember in 2024, some estimated that it would cost up to $2 billion if you were to build a deck over those metro tracks. So how are you going to pay for this thing? Well, Davis didn't give specifics, but pointed to your tax dollars paying for it. If you have a revenue generator like the Bears, and how much it would mean to the citizens of Chicago, opportunities for jobs, opportunity for work, continuous community engagement and involvement, continuous excitement, I think that whatever it is that we need to do to enhance that site, And make it the perfect site for the bears. I did reach out to the Chicago Bears. They didn't have anything more to say about this. But this is coming at a time when Illinois state lawmakers are gonna be going back to Springfield next week for the fall veto session. And that's where they can potentially vote on legislation that would keep the Chicago Bears right here in Illinois. We're live in Bronzeville tonight, Brett Boganski, Fox Chicago.