As the Chicago Bears contemplate their next move in the franchise’s ongoing stadium saga, two new suitors have stepped up to pitch themselves as future homes for a new Bears stadium.
One is on Chicago’s Southeast Side, while the other is in McCook — Cook County’s smallest municipality, situated along the Des Plaines River in the southwest suburbs.
The patch of property within city limits lies near South 85th Street and DuSable Lake Shore Drive, formerly known as the U.S. Steel South Works Site, and major investments are already being made on that specific plot of land in the South Chicago neighborhood.
Two large-scale developments are in the works: The Quantum Microelectronics Park and a new Advocate Health hospital.
State Rep. Curtis Tarver II, D-Chicago, who represents the district where the old U.S. Steel site is found, told WGN-TV he feels the location is a good option for a new Bears stadium.
“There’s enough land there. There’s more land there than there is in Arlington Heights,” Tarver said. “The reality is, if Hammond suffices and it’s just across the border, why would we not look in the area where the city of Chicago’s residents can actually benefit?”
Legislation to keep the Bears in Illinois stalled in Springfield at the end of the 2026 Spring Legislative Session, and the team followed up that development with a Board of Directors vote shifting the team’s sights to Hammond, Indiana, as the future home of the franchise.
As the Bears’ focus pivoted to Northwest Indiana, it was at that point another southwest suburban mayor proposed his community as an option for the Monsters of the Midway.
“Once all the drama happened, we started looking at a site in our town,” McCook Mayor Terry Carr said. “We knew it was going up for sale, which is 150 acres — The Vulcan property.”
The Vulcan property is filled-in quarry land near 55th Street and East Avenue, valued at around $160 million in McCook — a village with a population of 241 — according to the 2024 U.S. Census.
“We’re blocks away from I-55. We’re on Joliet Road, which is Route 66,” Carr said. “We’re right by Lagrange Road, First Avenue, Ogden, 47th Street, 294, 90/94.”
Under McCook’s proposal, the Bears would get the land for free, build a $2 billion stadium with their own money, then lease it back to the village for $1 a year, while the village covers property taxes on the land only.
Carr told there is also a secondary option where the Bears maintain ownership of the stadium, with property taxes on the development capped between $7-8 million per year.
“We’re waiting. We’re not going to negotiate a deal with anyone but Mr. McCaskey,” Carr said. “We’re waiting for him to call. If he calls, we’re going to sit down and negotiate this out and bring the Bears to McCook.”
According to Politico, an announcement possibly involving the convening of a special legislative session could come as soon as Wednesday.
