Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the Chicago Bears and the state of Illinois have moved past flirtation and into divorce, blasting Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on Newsmax on Thursday as the franchise edges toward Hammond, Indiana.

"I think this is a lot more than flirtation. I think this is more than kissing," Blagojevich said on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren."

"I think they've consummated the relationship, and they're going to get married, and they've left in the wake those of us who love the Bears," he said.

The Bears' board of directors voted June 5 to advance a stadium project in Hammond, with the exact site still to be selected, ending years of stalled talks with Chicago and Arlington Heights.

Chairman George McCaskey and President and CEO Kevin Warren said the team believes "a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region."

As of Tuesday, no final site has been chosen, and the NFL has not voted on relocation; if the move holds, the Bears will play home games outside Illinois for the first time in the franchise's 106-year history.

Blagojevich placed the blame squarely on the state's two top Democrats.

"The problem with our two leaders is they're more concerned about fighting for the rights of illegal immigrants, giving sanctuary to them, and not caring about whether the Bears stay in Illinois or in Chicago," he said, calling the looming departure "gubernatorial malpractice by Governor Pritzker and mayoral malpractice by Brandon Johnson."

He said Pritzker "has given more than $2.5 billion to fund illegal immigrants" but "won't even give a penny to try to make a deal to keep the Bears in Chicago or in Illinois."

A 2025 Illinois Policy Institute analysis projected the state's total migrant-related spending would top $2.5 billion by year's end, with a state audit finding $1.6 billion went to noncitizen health care alone through mid-2024.

Indiana cleared the runway in February, when state lawmakers created the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority, backed by taxes on admissions, hotels, restaurants and tolls.

Illinois lawmakers ended their spring session without passing a financing or property-tax certainty measure.

The Bears' Soldier Field lease runs through 2033 but can be terminated early with a penalty of up to $90 million, on top of $567 million in outstanding renovation debt held by the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority.

Blagojevich tied the Bears' fight to a broader corporate exodus, citing Citadel, Caterpillar, and Boeing, all of which left Illinois in 2022.

"This has consequences beyond sports. This is a big business that's leaving Illinois — yet another one — under Pritzker," he said.

"Our beloved, magnificent, mild Michigan Avenue is losing stores. The situation in Chicago: High taxes, high crime ... they're going to ruin our city and our state," Blagojevich continued.

He blamed "incompetence" and political cowardice: "Neither one wants to take a stand of leadership," he said.

"They were afraid one will fail, and they want to scapegoat the other. So therefore neither one steps up, and now we're going to lose the Bears," he said.

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