Last-second attempts at derailing plans to keep the Bears from going to Arlington Heights by the city of Chicago and Mayor Brandon Johnson have enlisted the help of another politician.They brought in the bean counter who apparently has a mouth, county treasurer Maria Pappas. Her office put out a report last week claiming the Bears' bid for tax certainty with the megaproject bill, now being considered by the Illinois Senate, can place too large of a future tax burden on area taxpayers. Pappas and Johnson are not exactly buddies, but they're both fighting for the same cause now and that's to keep the Bears where they don't want to be, in Soldier Field. They're working against Gov. J.B. Pritzker, which is quite the twist from how this all startedPappas came on WSCR's Mully & Haugh Show on Wednesday and it was very apparent her agenda is keeping the Bears in Chicago, just like the mayor of the city.Instead of focusing totally on findings from a report she claims her own office has done on the 367-page megaproject, she took the opportunity of being on the sports station to ridicule the possibility the Bears would ever move to the Indiana site because of assertions that stadium would be built on toxic land. What is left out in all reports is the Bears would instantly have the highest property taxes in the state at $53 million and w/ only a handful of events to profit from (avg stadium generates $140 million a yr)Sears Tower -$50 million Exelon Byron Nuclear Plant - $35 million… https://t.co/2AO7ApETmd— Jeff Orr (@JeffO773) May 26, 2026Threat removal in progressRemoving the Indiana threat is exactly what opponents to the Bears leaving Chicago want because without that option there is no pressure placed on the Illinois legislature to move on the tax certainty bill and get the Bears what they need to begin construction in Arlington Heights. That way, nothing could be done, and everything could be kept as is or a more concrete plan could be put together for a stadium inside Chicago. "My dead grandmother would have to come back to life for the Bears to go to Indiana," Pappas told Mike Mulligan and David Haugh. "That is all BS that they're going to Indiana."Cook County treasurer Maria Pappas: "My dead grandmother would have to come back to life for the Bears to go to Indiana. That is all BS, that they're going to Indiana. It is a toxic site. It is a toxic site." pic.twitter.com/nadKczi6dN— 104.3 The Score (@thescorechicago) May 27, 2026Adding that she couldn't curse on the radio, Pappas made another assertion about the Indiana site, which was the subject of a Tribune story saying the Bears would be building on a toxic "slag heap" in Hammond. That story did not offer toxicity results from property soil tests, although the property is in an area where industrial waste had been dumped and is near oil storage facilities. Nor did the story produce an environmental group opposing such a stadium. "That's all BS that they're going to Indiana."Cook County treasurer Maria Pappas"That is all BS that they're going to Indiana," Pappas told Mully & Haugh. "It is a toxic site. Can you just see all of the environmental lawyers who are now going to come out there and do a class-action because the fans and the Bears are breathing all of this toxic air."Pappas claimed the Bears would need to be wearing masks to play there and fans could become disturbed by smells.If it is all a ploy by the Bears to pressure the state of Illinois to get the Arlington Heights property tax certainty and infrastructure approval, it's a very thorough one. The Bears have continued talks and visits with Indiana officials right up into last week, and on Saturday Indiana Gov. Mike Braun did an interview offering 65% certainty Indiana would get the stadium."It's just a negotiation point," Pappas claimed. "George Halas would be rolling in his grave to think that this Bears team was going to play on a garbage dump. OK? So let's do the reality check here. There really are two options here. It's still Chicago, OK? And Arlington Heights."Halas actually began his post-college playing career with the Hammond Aces, prior to taking over the Decatur Staleys, who later became the Bears.Listening the the cook county treasurer talk about the stadium bill for 30 minutes just completely convinced me that chicago politics is broken beyond repairAt this point, genuinely think i may prefer bears just leaving— Comatose Caleb 🐻⬇️ (@ComatoseCaleb) May 27, 2026And the reality is the Bears themselves have ruled out Chicago numerous times since late last year.This report on the 367-page bill by Pappas' office suddenly and conveniently popped up in the last few days before the megaproject goes up for a vote much like other numerous attempts to derail the legislation. Another bid to keep Bears in cityIt's all an attempt to keep the Bears in Chicago longer than they want to be there.Pappas also started her disgust with the House bill by trying to claim the Bears only play seven home games. She had to be corrected at a few points by Mully and Haugh about this. The number varies from year to year but it would never be seven unless the NFL changed the way they schedule international games and started moving the Bears overseas for two or three home games. Far be it from the treasurer to be inexact with numbers, right?Hammond is actually French for giant slag heap https://t.co/DNI0i3aI2p— keeks badeeks (@keeksbadeeks) May 26, 2026They play a minimum of nine home games and maximum of 13. There would be one or two preseason games, as well, and there is always the possibility a team loses a home game to an overseas stadium. Most often it would be 10 games plus any playoffs, but never seven as she claimed.Either way, her point was the stadium was intended to point out this is an entertainment complex the Bears want to build and not just a stadium.Welcome to reality. This has been part of the plan since Day 1. Why else would they build a dome?It's a entertainment district around the stadium and because it's a domed facility it's meant to be used for more than just Bears games. A Super Bowl or even more than one, the NCAA basketball tournament, the NCAA football playoffs, Big Ten championships, concerts, and other forms of entertainment could be held in the dome year round.The South East Side of Chicago and the entire Illiana/Southland region will benefit from a new Wolf Lake Indiana Chicago Bears stadium.And I think that's the problem. Cuz the attitude we have always faced is "who the F cares about those people?"Anything that isn't…— Pugs Moran (Gentleman South Sider) (@pugsandco) May 26, 2026There are plenty of things for the assessor's office to do besides champion the cause of the City of Chicago at keeping the Bears fixed in the NFL's smallest stadium, an outdated one that causes a nightmare of a traffic problem every prime-time game and after every game no matter when it's played. Chicago state senator Kam Buckner, co-sponsor of the megaproject bill, summed it up best by telling CBS Chicago the lack of a stadium at the Arlington International Racecourse property presents an even less desirable situation for local taxing bodies."The real choice is a negotiated payment on a real project or full taxes on an empty lot," he said. "Nothing from nothing leaves nothing." Nothing would be what the local taxing bodies get if the Bears go to Indiana.Or maybe Illinois politicians could attract a nice data center with that vacant land. That's the kind of business they attract to Illinois these days.The planned data center would be 795 acres.https://t.co/a5mrFzSUtL.— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) March 20, 2026X: BearsOnSIAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow