Mayor Brandon Johnson on Bears stadium plan, impact on Chicago 

Brandon Johnson's word is worth nothing.

The question about why he isn’t aligned with Pritzker was so well asked

"I don't know what to do with my hands, so prepare for the same two bizarre moves for the next 16 minutes" - Mayor Brandon Johnson

9:43 "Yeah, I hear the feedback but I'm gonna do whatever the hell I want." 😂

Investing in Chicago means investing in schools, job programs and mom and pops shops. It does not mean giving away tax money to billionaires. Fire BJ!

I'm so glad Laurence was the one to conduct this interview. Loved the Pritzger and money owed questions. I still don't know how I feel about it, but I have more information now.

I never thought we could do worse than Lori…

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS!

Simple solution, is to have a wealthier ownership take over. Plenty of parties who can afford this project. Bears can just sell their team. The city can still benefit from the economic benefit without having the citizens pay (I don’t want to hear about the hotel tax which hasn’t worked)

This is real journalism! Great work Mr. Holmes

FACT [1]🚩 It will cost MUCH more. FACT [2]🚩It will look much different. FACT [3]🚩The Bears will continue to embarrass the city.

This guy is terrible

Like you said on The Score today, he's now become the establishment. I had so much hope for him.

I think a lot of us are aligned with the Bears and the Mayor that getting this done would be really cool. Repurposing the columns to provide more park space, getting a nicer stadium, improving the museum campus infrastructure, etc. All sounds great. Certainly better than doing nothing at all. The issue is that we don’t want to get handcuffed to yet another round of crippling debt that becomes a bigger burden on the generations that come after us to scramble to figure out. That severally stunts growth in the city. I get that $2B from the Bears sounds nice to take advantage of in this moment. But that’s less than half the cost of this and we’ve seen that the existing tax doesn’t even begin to cover Soldier Field renovations. How on earth would it begin to cover this? Be honest with Chicagoans. This needs a new tax or revenue stream to make it fiscally sound if the City/State get involved. And if that’s what we vote to do, so be it. But do not hide these facts and kick the can down the road, again. I’m thankful we at least have a governor that seems much more cautious.

All smoke for Arlington Heights concessions on taxes.

Wonder how much skin in the game he's getting..

BJ said this will create "hundreds of thousands of jobs." Huh?!

Best interview I’ve found, thank you.

Very good interview by Laurence Holmes. Keep up the good work.

He provided numbers of jobs that will be created are so far fetched it’s crazy. He said the Bears are putting skin in the game why not put in more or all the skin in the game? Johnson does not have the balls to demand this of the Bears because he’s more concerned about his legacy. This does not have to be funded one done with public funds. Sofi was not built with public funds it was fully private financed by Kronke because he was told by the mayor of Inglewood that is how it was it’s going to be.

His hands look like they operate independent of his body. It's like one of those bits where there's somebody else behind him doing the hand movements.

How will everyday Chicagoans afford it.? Not just the infrastructure project itself but tickets to games and tickets to concerts and tickets to whatever's going on in the park. There's going to be costs added on there's going to be actually more costs everything is going up. It's constantly going up for the last 40 years. This is a joke there's more important things to invest in

Brandon Johnson should be recalled from mayor such a lair he is

Terrible idea, they need to build in AH, own the stadium and create all the income streams possible with the land. Also stadium needs to be bigger than 65k seats.

This guy sucks. He’s betting on the bears staying in Chicago to make up for his shitty record

No Tax payer Dollars, pictures give you a fuzzy feeling but paying for money that Chicago doesn’t have put the money into education ?

The McCaskies should have built or turned Solider Field into a Dome Stadium back in 2003 with the $600,000,000 they had, If that happened we would not be talking about this! The McCaskies funked this up! 😠😡🤬

I saw this earlier and had a nap. Came back to share this nutty dream.Everyone seemed like the opposite of themselves. I think. The Mayor’s were all notoriously dangerous like the old west. Brandon was known as “ Quick han Bran. He was a three card Molly Grandmaster! He didn’t need help from people pretending to win… but being apart of the scam, his skills & speed was ridiculously crucial. He had animosity with a fellow candidate . She had some big ass eyes. She peeked his game and he lost $100,00 and tried to attack her. Lori Lightfoot and Brandon was some straight gangsters! Lori head butted him and because of her shit clearly rivaling OJ status, she was immediately charged with A class Felony and aggravated attempted murder. The quick and the head? Idk. Strange dream.

Did I miss the question of opening with religion??

I don't want my tax dollars. Paying for a new stadium.

Is hundreds of thousands of jobs... Earlier it was 65000..... Every time they open their Mouth My intelligence gets more and more insulted.

Do it, and do it right this time. Build something to be proud of. City needs an uplift post covid. A strong and prosperous city is good for all the surrounding communities. Havent done much since millenium park.

i can't believe that some people are okay with getting screwed... it's a great idea but we don't need to be the ones getting screwed in the deal.... There's just so much wrong with this entire proposal. shame on them and their idea but they really have no shame whatsoever...

People complain about Soldier Field...we get a proposal today for a state of the art stadium which will be built by the same builders as the well-respected Allegiant Stadium...people complain about green space...they will be increasing the green space....people complain about ownership being cheap..... 70% of the cost will be their own money (one of the highest percentages in NFL history) with no increased taxes from citizens to fund the stadium....people complain about parking and traffic....they proposed a detailed plan during the press conference to significantly improve this issue....and the list goes on. People have to realize that this is a proposal which will continue to be refined...it blows my mind that some people have a problem with the stadium.

He politicked ya. He talked a lot and said nothing more than the talking points spewed at their press conference.

I liked his answers

The Bears should run as far from this deal with the City of Chicago as fast as possible. The level of cost overruns will be mind blowing. The Bears would be in the same position with this new stadium as they are with the current Soldier Field, i.e. they'd have little control over the venue and the City would be doing the same crappy job with the maintenance that it does now. On the flip side, the tax payers of Chicago should run from the deal as fast as they can. They'd be paying off the current $650m debt on the prior renovation of Soldier Field, as well as taking on new billions of dollars of debt for the new stadium. The payback on that "investment"/spending will probably not be in anyone living's lifetimes.

Over $600 million still on taxpayers’ shoulders from Soldier Field. Now add another $2 billion, at least! While Chicago’s budget is so far in the red the city had to just borrow $1 billion to satisfy this year’s budget. Billionaires “putting skin in the game” still leaves taxpayers holding a $2 Billion bag! Taxes will HAVE to be raised or the city will only continue to borrow billions and billions. And spend millions every year just to service an ever increasing debt! Further limiting money that could have been spent on needed city services. Money doesn’t grow on trees and hosting flag football tournaments will bring in zero dollars. The Chicago Bears already have a lakefront stadium very near the museum campus. A stadium that is protected. That cannot be torn down. Do we need to spend over $2 Billion for another one!??? And what about the White Sox. If the Bears get a brand new stadium do they also?

The Bears go forward with this plan it’ll be like the 3rd biggest NFL market team playing it’s football games at the local community college stadium. Literally no fan experience outside the stadium and they’ll have to shuffle the teams/fans out before 4pm on Sundays cuz the local beer league softball games get the parking lots and practice fields. Bears are are a big market team treating its fans like they’re from Decatur

After today's Bernstein and Holmes show, I was hoping Lawrence would have been tougher with the questions

Please leave chicago. Im talking about the mayor btw.

Graduation laughing my ass out loud what graduation to the wrestling ring because that's all they do is fight in school how about doing the backdrop at the Brookfield Zoo in front of the lions den

LIES LIES AND MORE LIES that's all I hear.

Another money grab by the bears and Chicago. I'm guessing Brandon Johnson's next gig will be with the Bears. Also, where the heck are people supposed to park once this is built? Arlington Heights? Plus, just think of the new shootings that Chicago can have on the new campus. Lots of terrain changes and places to shelter. Could be epic. Maybe even offer naming rights to Chicago gangs.

The Mayor's plan is long overdue. What if the people don't want the new stadium? Let the city continue to operate at a financial deficit. What was the thinking years ago of building new stadium without a dome? Chicago is a cold city with 3 months of summer. This plan is needed fast!!

43,000 jobs? Does he have that confused with seats in the stadium? WTF is he even talking about. The CTU must REALLY want a new stadium.

Bears won't "walk away" from Arlington Heights site. They can resell, and who knows, maybe even make money on it. Ya know, I lived for 30 years in the NW suburbs. Even though I'm not aligned with Brandon's politics, I'm glad Chicago has elected a mayor that doesn't seem to be a complete clown. Been a few years...

Mayor tell them how the park district and city of Chicago are in the Bears pockets from crappy fielding due to the park district the city taking a huge % off concessions from each home game/concert at soldier field what assurances do the team have after being bled by the city of Chicago and a mayor who's running the city to the ground supporting illagals than the citizens of Chicago

🎶 All this money in the room Think some scammers in here 🎵

You do it to yourselves, Chicago..

Well he can repeat the same numbers over and over again...how much green space?

Parking, transit access and tailgating?

He’s got bigger fish to fry, like dealing with the crime in Chicago, the fact that pritzker clearly is not on board? Is alarming. He wasn’t invited either? There’s a lot to be concerned about. What are the mcaskeys going to do with that massive plot of land? Too many questions and not enough concrete answers. What he said sounds good, and l believe that he genuinely believes he’s not being played. But bears didn’t spend that money on the land just to walk away from it and take a loss.

I bet our Bears are going to change the structure of this Domed Stadium and reduce it to $2B USD and maybe move it to the South Loop or the closed Michael Reese Hospital! 😀

Chicago can't afford this non essential stadium rebuild. We have invested renovations in the current stadium. Let the Bears go!!!!!😤

this guy is a joke.

4:27 You didn't answer why you DIDN'T INVITE THE GOVERNOR...TRANSPARENCY????

Let them go!!!! The Bears are not worth millions of tax $. If they can walk away from $200 million in Arlington Heights, they can BUILD THEIR OWN STADIUM. DUECES!!

Why can’t he JUST answer your questions.

The mayor is a joke

I have a serious problem with the notion that the Bears are somehow doing us a favor by “chipping in” and not making us pay for all of it. Gosh, how generous (🙄). I don’t care if that’s how it’s usually done. This whole thing is just more public aid for billionaires and it needs to stop.

What a clown. lol

The design looks really nice.

What our Bears can do is use the $2.5B they have to build a different stadium only and forget about the $4.6B overall project because taxpayers aren't going to pay for it! There are other Dome Stadiums out there that cost only $2.5B to build! 😄😊

4:41 What residents have pushed public space as a priority??? CRIME LEVEL is PRIORITY Brandon 🤦🏻‍♂️

My team will continue to be renters. Nah

Definitely not worth no $4.6 billion if you ask me. Looks like a plain soccer stadium. Should of build a new stadium from the ground up similar to the first proposal by Landmark Development.

I think this is great for small businesses it could make a lot money for the little businesses like mine I’m all for it.

"Mayor Quitefrankly"

Thos dude is so out of touch. "Think about the jobs and women employed businesses!!" Say what?!?! These will be one-off construction jobs and the ownes will be underground parking garage owners. LoL. Heck of a way to spend 2 billion. You could put a new Millennium Park on the south, west, and north sides for the cost this boondoggle. Let the Beads build with their own money at the Reese site. It's lakefront adjacent and MUCH better in terms of logistics.

Hire me to show the many hidden costs/ drawbacks of this plan that you're blind to.

This guy is 100 percent politician, AKA Full of BS.

Who knows how long his administration will be in power. He's done a terrible job of everything else so far.

If bears don't get a stadium in the next 3 or 4 years they will be leaving the state. So the city and pritzker can F around and find out

3billion for a stadium that will only hold 4k more seats than the current soldier field. Also...doesn't johnson look like that kid that pretended to be a doctor some years ago?

The guy is an absolute joke and an absolute loser.. Chicago would be better off with Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Cant believe Im saying that.

8:39 You are SO BLIND/IN DENIAL of the 💩 this plan is.

really?

STOP VOTING FOR THESE FOOLS!

Im a die hard been to 20 plus games in my 46 years they belong in chicago not arlington heights.If you people are scared to come to the city then dont

I think he did a great job explaining the benefits this can provide.❤

Hey Chicago....YOU voted for this guy, so don't cry when your taxes go through the roof.

Insane choice of chairs

ok Lawrence well lets just stay at Soilders Fields for another 50 years with no upgrades. Sounds like that's what you would like.

His hands are very distracting

The mayor sucks and the Governor sucks.

70 million dollars for illegals.

Brandon is a joke!

He sucks.

So Lawrence doesn't want Caleb and he doesn't want a new stadium. Everyone is so negative. This is why Chicago can not handle major events anymore because the peoples minds are small. it is only on 'I can't". The country is leaving us behind. Even Detroit and Minn got a Super Bowl but Chicago fans don't want a world class stadium.

Just build it and they will come! Hell my first Bears game was at Wrigley Field in 1965! I'm a 65 year old Navy veteran and a die hard Bears fan. Please, before i go to that steak house in the sky build it!

That was phenomenal!! I fully support the Mayor!! The job of a Mayor is to bring economic growth and prosperity to a city. The synergies of this project are endless. Who can get billionaires to cover more than half of the cost while the whole thing remains publicly owned and have the McCaskeys bail on Arlington Heights that they privately own is a fleece job! Poles, Warren and Johnson are fleece artists 👨‍🎨 😂

I Love Mayor Johnson

Lawrence your on strike two now.How dare you ask that man if he's being used.There playing Chicago politics what you want Arlington heights

This guy is awful

The worst mayor