Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker found himself in a tight spot this week when a television reporter asked the obvious question: Why won’t you spend a dime to keep the Chicago Bears in Illinois, but you’ve proudly dropped billions on illegal immigrants?
Pritzker’s answer? Blame Texas.
In a squirm-worthy exchange, the governor — who’s been quietly eyeing a 2028 presidential run — was pressed on his refusal to use taxpayer funds to help the Bears stay in Chicago. The team announced in May that it had “exhausted every opportunity” to remain in the city, with its only remaining options being suburban Arlington Heights or Hammond, Indiana — potentially ending a 100-year legacy in Chicago.
The interviewer went right for the jugular, pointing out that Pritzker has been more than willing to open the state’s checkbook for migrants while slamming it shut on an NFL franchise beloved by the city and that actually generates revenue.
Pritzker dodged, weaved, and then — in a moment of breathtaking gall — pointed the finger at Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
“It was the governor of Texas — Abbott who decided to throw people onto buses and ship them across the country — 55,000 of them — to the city of Chicago,” Pritzker said, somehow keeping a straight face while explaining why Illinois was forced to spend billions housing, feeding, and clothing migrants who arrived in the dead of winter without so much as a coat.
This is so on brand for Pritzker.
He blames Texas governor Greg Abbott for frittering $3B on illegals, leaving no money to negotiate with to keep the Bears.
It's never Pritzker's fault.
🎥 @ImMeme0 pic.twitter.com/EaFyPjVnZA
— Jen (@IlliniJen) June 9, 2026
Sure, JB. Abbott made you do it.
Never mind that Pritzker declared Illinois a sanctuary state and welcomed those buses with open arms. The Chicago Sun Times noted in February 2025: “Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration dramatically underestimated the actual price tag of a controversial health care program for adult immigrants who lack legal status, costing the state $1.6 billion since 2020, a state auditor general’s report revealed Wednesday.”
For the Bears — an $8.5 billion franchise and a charter NFL team that has played in Illinois since 1920 — Pritzker suddenly discovered fiscal conservatism.
“They’re a private business,” he said last August, declining to support a property tax relief bill that could have kept the team in the state.
The Bears agree the door is now closed on Chicago. Their stadium bill, HB 4058, died in the spring session. Indiana is dangling a shiny new domed stadium in Hammond, and Illinois lawmakers are scrambling for a last-ditch megaproject tax break — but the damage may be done.
Pritzker says he doesn’t want to raise taxes for billionaires’ football teams. Fair enough. But Bears fans watching billions flow to migrants while their century-old franchise heads for the Indiana border might be forgiven for wondering: whose side is this guy on, anyway?
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