Politics
Bailey, Del Mar say ‘I-Formation’ plan can keep Bears in Illinois
Darren Bailey unveiled an eight point plan aimed at keeping the Chicago Bears in Illinois without funding the stadium.
By Jerry Nowicki · 2026-09-22T23:05:04.789Z
OUR SUMMARY: Standing outside Soldier Field wearing Bears jerseys, Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey and running mate Aaron Del Mar on Friday unveiled their eight pronged “I Formation” plan for keeping the NFL’s founding franchise in Illinois.
The “I” is a double entendre, of course referencing the offensive alignment of a quarterback under center with a full back and running back directly behind him. But in this case, it also stands for Bailey’s principles on a Bears stadium plan: “Illinois Infrastructure and Investment.”
I FORMATION: Here’s Bailey’s plan, point by point, as delivered by Del Mar on Friday.
Bailey and Del Mar called on Gov. JB Pritzker to call lawmakers back to Springfield as early as this week.
WHY IT MATTERS: Bailey, a downstate farmer, has sought to curry favor with voters in the Chicago region throughout this cycle. He moved to Chicago, has shown up at Bulls and Sox games and has tried to otherwise be visible in a region that rejected him four years ago. And what better way to do so than pitch a plan to keep Illinois’ “pride and joy” from bolting across the state line to Indiana?
It’s an opening for Bailey due to Pritzker and the Democratic supermajority’s failure to get stadium legislation across the finish line this spring. But it’s also a tightrope. Bailey has campaigned as fiscal conservative and taxpayer watchdog. In that sense, any plan to keep the Bears can’t appear to be a giveaway at the expense of local property taxpayers.
Bailey’s plan attempts to accomplish this with an annual PILOT tied to inflation, the designation of a stadium district where certain revenues generated within would go towards paying down infrastructure bonds and existing Soldier Field debt, and building in safeguards to ensure that the Bears, not taxpayers, are on the hook for cost overruns.
BE REAL: There’s little to no chance Pritzker calls lawmakers back to Springfield for a special session to take up Bears legislation. Any action likely comes during the fall veto session or lame duck session. As we reported last week, some conversations continue to happen in the background https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/bears stadium lead board member met with top illinois official in august/ .
Some of the planks in Bailey’s plan, meanwhile, have run into opposition, such as the fixed property tax payment, or PILOT, provision.
And while legislative Republicans have been included in some meetings with Bears stadium negotiators, they’ve largely been shut out of the process. Unless Bailey wins, his proposal is just that, a proposal.
But if Pritzker wants it, Del Mar said, he can have it : “You want to change it to JB Pritzker’s plan. Here, I’ll give it to you. You can take credit. Just get it done,” Del Mar said.
This story originally appeared on capitolnewsillinois.com https://capitolnewsillinois.com/news/bailey del mar say i formation plan can keep bears in illinois .