‘Clueless’ Bears legend attacked after brutal rant at politicians over $4bn Indiana relocation

Jun 15, 2026 - 11:45
‘Clueless’ Bears legend attacked after brutal rant at politicians over $4bn Indiana relocation

Chicago Bears icon Brian Urlacher is devastated to see his former franchise leave Illinois.

After months of negotiations, a lack of agreement over funding from local lawmakers saw a proposed move to Arlington Heights fall through.

Urlacher represented the Bears for his entire career
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The team instead plans to cross state lines and abandon Soldier Field for Hammond, Indiana, in a project estimate to cost $4 billion.

While the location is actually closer to the Bears’ current home, Urlacher is furious that The Prairie State lost out — placing the blame on the Democrat-led legislature.

“If I were those guys, I would probably do what I had to do to keep them in the state of Illinois,” he said during an appearance on Fox News. “Maybe not at Soldier Field, because that was already off the table, but they had Arlington Heights planned out.

“They have the land bought already. Find a way to keep them there.

“You look at all the money they’ve given to illegal immigrants and the money they’ve set aside for that, it’s like two and a half, three billion dollars that they’ve spent on the illegal immigrants.

“That money could be for the Bears, could be trying to keep them, not for the Bears, but trying to keep their stadium in town instead of keeping people that aren’t supposed to be in our country here.”

Veteran NFL writer Clarence Hill Jr. took a dim view of the rant.

“Clueless Urlacher,” he wrote on X.

Donald Trump urged to keep Bears in Illinois

Urlacher joined the Bears with the ninth overall pick of the 2000 NFL Draft.

The four-time First-Team All-Pro out of New Mexico was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2005 and retired in 2012.

Soldier Field was rejected as a World Cup host
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Urlacher is a member of the Bears Ring of Excellence
Getty

He was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame at the first time of asking and has now questioned whether President Donald Trump could step in and save the Arlington Heights proposal.

“He probably has all the power in the world,” Urlacher added. “He could do that if he wanted to, but I don’t know if that’s in his realm or not.

“He is smart about everything he does business-wise and he’s a pretty support-savvy guy as well, but I’m not sure he could have any impact on that.

“You never know. His words carry some weight, but not maybe not this question. I don’t know.”

Urlacher did see some positives with Republican-led Indiana offering the Bears significant tax breaks.

“Indiana, for sure. Quite excited to go into Indiana,” he said. “It’s a great state. Big, big red state. So tax-wise, it’s gonna be great for the Bears.”

NFL Stadium Status

Ultimately, the mood surrounding the Bears will depend on whether head coach Ben Johnson can turn Madden 26 cover star Caleb Williams into one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks.

The former No. 1 pick doesn’t care where he plays as long as he is in the iconic navy blue and burnt orange uniform.

“I’m going to play wherever there’s 120 by 53 and ⅓, and it’s marked up with white lines and two end zones,” he said via ESPN’s Courtney Cronin.

“I’m OK with whatever. Whatever decision they make is whatever decision they make.

“I just want some green and my teammates and coaches and another team out there and fans.”

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