Okay. Okay. Good morning, everyone. Good morning. My name is Colette Payne, Director of the Reclamation Project of the Women's Justice Institute. And it gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the WJI Reclamation Center.
The site of the city of Chicago's first ever women's community re-entry and support center.
The WJI is a national think and do tank that collaborates across sectors to build transformative solutions designed to end women's mass incarceration, reduce harm, and improve health and well-being and outcomes among impacted women, their children, families, and communities.
Most importantly, the organization was founded on the principles of centering the leadership and voices of those of us with lived experience and solutions.
The Reclamation Project is our mutual support and healing arts and advocacy and innovative hub where we deliver gender responsive, trauma informed and family centered services.
It is where women can feel safe, seen, and heard, a place to reclaim their lives.
Today's announcement marks a milestone not only for WJI, but for the entire city of Chicago.
More importantly, it is a win for every woman and survivor who has come home from jail or prison only to feel overlooked in a one-size-fits-all program for men, misunderstood, shamed, not believed, undeserving, or as if she left her dignity at the door.
To them we say, we see you, we hear you, we believe in you, you are welcome here.
For the WJI, this recognition represents more than a title or an award.
It is a commitment, responsibility, and a continued promise to the people we serve.
For years, WJI has worked at the forefront to ensure that women and gender-expansive people returning home from incarceration are met not with barriers but with opportunity, love, and support.
We listened to their stories and shared some of our own, walked alongside their families and built programs rooted in dignity, accountability, and justice.
and hope. This grant affirms that re-entry is not a privilege. It is a commitment to our health,
safety, families, and communities. We are grateful to Mayor Johnson and the city of Chicago for
believing in this work and for investing in a future where women and those who identify as
have a chance to reclaim their lives with support for women who have walked in their shoes.
This partnership strengthens our ability to provide comprehensive support, from peer-led care coordination to housing and employment assistance to mental health services, legal advocacy, and community connection.
It allows us to expand our reach, deepen our impact in innovative ways that meet the evolving needs of our community.
But let me be clear, this recognition belongs to the people who have lived the reentry experience, to the individuals who have shown resilience in the face of systemic obstacles, to the families who have held everything together while waiting for their loved ones to come home, to the community partners, volunteers, and staff who show up every day with compassion and determination.
nation. This movement is yours. Chicago is leading the way by acknowledging that successful
reentry strengthens neighborhoods, reduces recidivism, and builds safer, healthier communities.
And WJI is proud to stand at the forefront of that vision. As we move forward, we remain
committed to transforming the re-entry landscape not just through services but through advocacy
collaboration and the belief that every person deserves the chance to thrive this grant is
fuel for the mission and we intend to use it boldly and responsibly thank you to the mayor's office
dfss our partners with a special shout out to our our old friends and colleagues deputy mayor
Gary and Gatewood, and Office of Reentry Director Joseph Jojo Mapp, and to everyone who has supported WJI's journey.
We are just getting started, and together we will build Chicago where returning residents are welcome home with opportunity, not obstacles.
And now, I would like to introduce Alderman Cicho Lopez, with whom we look forward to growing our collaboration. Thank you.
Thank you so much. Thank you to the Women's Justice Institute. I want to also thank Commissioner Green, Deputy Mayor Gatewood, and of course, and especially Mayor Brandon Johnson, for his commitment to invest in communities to create safe, strong neighborhoods.
this is a step forward of how we can build truly resilient communities and also i want to take a
moment to express our solidarity or prayers and our hearts go to the people in minneapolis
dealing with the type of violence that we are here in chicago trying to address and provide an
alternative of how family reunification, healing circles, mental health, and trainings so even
law enforcement can understand and see the work that goes to making sure that our communities
are truly recovering and healing. I am proud to be in a world of welcoming an immigrant working
class community that believes in this work. And if you look around, I am so proud of the diversity
of our city and I'm proud of the leadership that believes in this institute and the mission
and the purpose that is going to carry us forward so on behalf of our office and to everybody who
has been part of these efforts I want to thank you in a moment like this I'm just hearing the
stories of how you know and I'm very grateful for for all the work that goes to connect the stories
of family reunification if this is incarceration by federal forces or this incarceration by local
law enforcement we got to connect the struggles so that we can build an alternative that truly
works for the people that today are suffering to make ends meet as a chair of the housing committee
we see time after time the issue of the un-house and how it's connected when people re-entry so
I'm proud that the city now finally has an office of reentry
so that we don't leave people behind
and we don't look the other way.
So thank you so much.
And I'm looking forward.
And I also want to acknowledge, of course,
all the women met.
We've got to keep...
working together so proud of our city of Chicago and Chicago leads the way and as Chicago goes
so does the country. So as far as I'm concerned, despite of the times that are tough, I feel in
this room the optimism and hope that carries forward. Thank you so much.
I now like to introduce the director of re-entry, Joseph Mapp. Thank you so much.
I'm excited I get to follow that enthusiasm.
So good morning, everyone, and thank you all for coming here today.
Today marks an important step forward in how Chicago shows up for women, families, and communities who have been impacted by incarceration.
Through close partnership with DFSS, we are expanding Chicago's broader commitment of a continuum of care with the addition of a women-focused community reentry support center.
Because building, we're doing this because we believe building a truly inclusive city requires us to be responsive to the lived realities of Chicagoans.
Incarceration fractures families and communities in different ways.
For women, those impacts often carry distinct ripple effects.
Women are frequently caregivers, economic stabilizers, and relational anchors within their families and in neighborhoods.
When women are removed from their communities, the disruption extends beyond the individual.
This center exists because we've listened.
We've listened to the women with lived experiences.
We've listened to service providers.
And we've listened to the families and the communities and our community partners who made clear that a one-size-fits-all approach to reentry just does not work.
I've spent many years listening to people navigating reentry.
And one thing has always been clear.
Systems work best when they reflect the lives of those who are impacted.
A woman-focused reentry center recognizes that women return home with specific needs and responsibilities related to housing, health care, trauma recovery, family reunification, and economic stability.
Our systems must be designed to meet those needs with dignity, respect, and care.
This is not about creating separate systems.
It is about creating responsive ones.
Mayor Johnson's administration understands that equity requires design, not assumptions.
It requires building pathways grounded in long-term stability rather than short-term fixes.
And in healing, I want to emphasize healing.
Healing is a public safety strategy.
When people are supported in healing and stability and connection, communities are stronger and safer.
I want to thank our partners again at DFSS. Is this a repeat?
I definitely want to thank them because they have been collaborative in this world.
Yes, that was important.
But I want to be clear. Chicago vision of a more inclusive city is not aspirational. It's actionable.
And today, with the launch of this Women's Focus CRSC, we take another step forward toward a city where reentry is not an afterthought.
But it's a shared responsibility. Thank you all. And now I want to introduce the man with vision who really believes in this work, Mayor Johnson.
Thank you, Director Mapp. Good morning, everyone, or as we affectionately know him as JoJo.
Let me just say, Director Mapp makes you want to have a nickname of your own, so we can just start a new contest.
We named Fleet and Management Trucks. Let's start a competition. Who can come up with the best nickname for Mayor Johnson?
but it's got to be rated PG
thank you Alderman Sigcho Lopez for being here
Alderman Mitz and to everyone who has come together today
for this very transformational day for this beloved city
today city leaders and community partners are here
because we understand what our collective assignment is
is to build the safest most affordable big city in America
And the way we do that is by investing in people.
So I want to thank you all for your commitment to this opportunity, this opportunity to heal our communities.
I especially want to recognize and thank the delegate agencies who will operate our community reentry support centers for 2026,
including today's host and our partner in this creation of the first ever woman CRSC, the Women's Justice Institute.
You know, coming in here today and seeing the excitement that the Women's Justice Institute has,
the loud energy, it makes me get fired up for this weekend.
You know, I often say that Chicago cannot police or incarcerate its way to safety.
True safety means ensuring that every Chicagoan has access to opportunity,
that they have support, that along their healing journey, we can be alongside of them,
particularly those who have been living in historically disinvested and neglected communities.
And a part of that effort, of course, has been centered around our community safety plan.
I'm grateful that our deputy mayor for community safety is here, Gary and Gatewood.
My administration is fostering true safety by investing in opportunities, supporting individuals,
making sure that when they return to the communities that raise them, that they can heal,
find stability and dignity in their return to our neighborhoods.
And everything my administration does is in partnership with the people of Chicago.
Today's launch of the Women's Community Reentry Support Center
is a direct result of listening to the courageous testimony of women
who name the gaps and challenges that they experience upon returning to our communities.
And what they did, which is powerful, they demanded better.
And that's what this moment is presenting, something better.
And despite making up a smaller share of the incarcerated population, women, particularly black and brown women, face some of the most complex and unmet challenges upon returning home.
In fact, about 75% of women who have been or are incarcerated have experienced domestic violence.
And over 60% of imprisoned women are mothers to children under the age of 18.
And women must find opportunity and stability for themselves, which is no small feat, and oftentimes a foundation for their children and the entire family.
We cannot abandon our mothers and sisters, leaving them to struggle, not in this city, and never again.
When they heal, our families heal.
When they thrive, our communities thrive.
And when they succeed, our city succeeds.
And today we proudly launch the Women's Community Reentry Support Center, or CRSC,
and build a pathway for those who are formerly incarcerated.
We're going to make sure that it's rooted in healing and equity and dignity for our women.
And this will be a trauma-informed space dedicated to the empowerment of system-impacted women.
And in the center, women will have the opportunity to find connections to mental and behavioral health care,
access to housing, employment navigation, family reunification support, and wellness programming.
The dedicated phone line will provide re-entry and navigation,
ongoing support for residents who are addressing their parole or probation mandates.
And today we demonstrate what it looks like when government approaches its work with humility and care
and centers the voices of the people most impacted.
Our commitment to women and system-impacted individuals is something that does not end today.
And through the Office of Reentry and the leadership of Director MAP, we will continue our investments in and support of this community on the road to building, again, the safest, most affordable big city in America.
In closing, one more time, I do want to thank DFSS and all the delegate agencies who will operate the Women's Focus Center and empower our communities.
So I'm grateful for the partnership in building a city government that is more just, compassionate, and centered around the needs of our people.
In the moment, apparently, that we all have been waiting for, please welcome to the stage DFSS Commissioner, Commissioner Gray.
It's just me.
But thank you, Mayor Johnson.
He is a true champion for our department, so thank you.
Thank you.
And good morning, everyone.
As the Mayor said, I am the Commissioner for the Department of...
family and support services in the best freaking city in the world
he didn't say it i'm gonna say it once again my name is angela green and thank you for being here
i'm definitely i got my middle name now oh the freaking city brandon freaking johnson
i got you
but truly i'm so excited and you all as well because feel the energy and the synergy in
this room right because we are doing something phenomenal on today and as we celebrate really
the realization of all the hard work and the progressive new vision that we had and we see
what is now possible in the field of re-entry support services but I do first want to thank
Mayor Johnson and the entire Mayor's Office of Re-entry for your commitment and your dedication
to ensuring all who seek support in returning from incarceration
are served with compassion, dignity, and respect.
And you're going to keep hearing that because that is our mantra.
Second, I want to thank the FSS Workforce Services Division.
That's led by the phenomenal Deputy Commissioner Mark Sanders II.
And his team is here as well.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
They're doing the work, and they're doing the work day in and day out, and they're not tiring,
and they are ensuring that we are meeting the needs of our returning residents,
and we're doing that with strong partnerships that we hold with our community reentry service center,
CRSC's delegate agencies, and we are so grateful to have them with us as well today.
And third, I do want to personally thank Alderman Cicho Lopez.
Thank you, sir.
Thank you for your ongoing support for Chicago residents and your presence here today.
And I cannot forget who I call Mama, Alderwoman Mitts, because she does mother me.
Thank you for being here, Alderwoman. Thank you.
And finally, I do want to share a huge thank you and congratulations to the five community reentry support centers that are here with us in the room today.
I look forward to partnering with each of you in the service of returning residents and system-impacted individuals that call Chicago home.
Starting with our very own host, WJI, Women's Justice Institute, which is a woman-led.
When I say that, they're not just a think tank like many.
They are a think and do tank.
Thank you for working tirelessly to end women's mass incarceration.
Your unwavering commitment and advocacy on behalf of women whose lives have been impacted by incarceration is evident in this work.
By bringing your team's first-hand knowledge and lived experience, you help women reclaim their time and redefine their lives.
We are grateful for your willingness to leverage these experiences as innovators and as system change agents and to join forces with us as we launch the city's first ever Women's Focus CRSC.
We are also thrilled to have present with us today the leadership of our other outstanding CRSC partner agencies who ensure we have welcoming and supportive services available for returning residents all across this great city.
And first off, I want to acknowledge the Howard Evanston Community Center located on the north side.
They will continue to offer high-quality re-entry services in that region.
Next, I want to acknowledge UCAN. They are managing the CRSC on the west side in North Lawndale, as well as the CRSC in West Pullman on the far south side.
While they are new to our CSC network, they are no stranger to serving impacted individuals.
So thank you for bringing your organization's expertise in violence prevention, diversion, and re-entry resources to this work as well.
and then finally I want to acknowledge teamwork in wood they have been one of
our CRSC provider service providers since 2009 and so that will make them
one of our veterans in the room but
But we thank you for your support services available on the near south side and thank you for your 21st century approach to reentry services.
But today I'm humbly proud that we are breaking barriers in service by expanding the support we provide individuals returning from incarceration, and especially system-impacted women and gender-nonconforming individuals whose needs and unique challenges have far too often been ignored, overlooked, under-resourced, and misunderstood.
The Women's CRSC will provide several things, and the mayor listed them. One is a trauma-informed and gender-responsive re-entry navigation support, connections to mental and behavioral health support, housing and employment navigation, family reunification, and wellness and holistic care programming.
Returning from incarceration is a period that is fraught with uncertainty
For many women, reentry means having to figure out how to meet their own needs
and rebuild their own lives while also balancing the roles of being a caregiver
For other women, it may mean that navigating this labyrinth of challenging circumstances
while also avoiding harmful, violent relationships that were in, that they experienced before and prior to their incarceration.
To those women, I want you to know that we are here for you.
Our Women Focus CRC is here for you.
You are not alone in this journey.
You are surrounded by a village that is here to support you.
Women's Justice Institute is here to help you make a fresh start.
And I can't wait to hear the success stories that are going to come from what you have accomplished.
Thanks to the incredible dedication and expertise of Women's Justice Institute reclamation team.
And now I actually want to introduce, and it's really my pleasure to do this, one of those success stories that we have with us.
Diane Winchester.
She is a Women's Justice Institute employee whose own transformation and personal journey from justice system involvement to a role supporting other women returning home to Chicago is absolutely inspirational and a true testament to why this work matters.
So help me in loving on my sister.
well good morning and thank you for being here with us on this honorable day
again my name is diana winchester and i'm a reclamation specialist and advocate for women
before anything i want to speak from truth and gratitude while i was incarcerated the women's
Justice Institute was more than an organization.
It was a lifeline. Sorry, guys.
My eyes. I should have printed this out.
Okay. In a space
where hope can feel distant and voices are often
silenced, WJI showed up.
They reminded me that I mattered, that my story
was not over and that humanity was still seen their support and consistent compassion and rooted
belief when time when there when it was a time for when it was time for me to come home they
didn't just talk about re-entry they walked me through it they helped me imagine a future
Beyond Survival
I'm sorry, y'all should have printed this out
It's okay, take your time
Standing here today
Working alongside the very people
Who supported me during
The most difficult season in my life is a full-circuit moment for me with deep gratitude.
What once sustained me now fuels my service. That work is personal.
Coming home from incarceration is not simply about release. It's about rebuilding.
It's about healing trauma, restoring dignity, reconnecting families, and learning how to believe in yourself again in a world that too often refuses to see your worth.
Women face challenges during reentry, and far too often those needs are overlooked.
What makes this work powerful is that it is led by lived experience.
we are guided by people who understand the system not just from policy but from survival
that lived experience brings empathy accountability and a level of compassion that cannot be taught
it must be lived together we are fighting for real justice for our sisters not symbolic justice
not delayed justice
but real justice
justice that restores
empowers and honors
the humanity of women who deserve
a true second chance
thank you for believing in women
thank you for believing
in lived experience
thank you for standing with us
as we continue to fight for real
justice for our sisters
thank you
it is my pleasure
to introduce the visionary, the woman who sees us, the executive director and co-founder,
D.A.N. Binoz. I'm going to need these now. Thank you. I'm going to wrap this up today
with such a high excitement and a full heart. I think like we feel in the room as the mayor
stated earlier um i want to say one thing before i begin that i want to acknowledge and thank
safe haven foundation and president mark mulrow this year yeah i is about to begin our 10-year
anniversary this year um and it flew by and we started out as a very small organization colette
was the first team member we were like there was just a few of us right and it's taken a lot it's
lot and when you have an organization like safe haven believe in you and provide you with that
support and the growth that we were able to apply for this and and to win this grant and we're going
to be able to deliver it with accountability and service and focus on what we do best because of
safe haven and because of the connections they're going to allow us to make just down the hall to
connect women with housing and support with pregnancy, OBGYN, child care, child
welfare navigation, behavioral health. So we are just so grateful to you and the
Safe Haven team. I'm going to add a few more comments and say this. As many of us know,
and I was so grateful that the the mayor alluded to this earlier, historically
women, disproportionately black and brown women and from Chicago, are the most
disproportionately impacted by incarceration in jails and prisons in our state and historically
women have been the fastest growing yet smallest population right and we all know that in recent
years we've made strides towards decarceration WGI has a cut 50 and beyond strategy and we've
cut 50 percent of the women's prison population not just us but collectively our communities right
But even so, even so, thousands of women are sent to jails and prisons every year from the city and Cook County.
And systems and providers still have not caught up because they are the smallest population.
And when resources are stretched and you don't see women like we do today, they are pushed to the side.
And you constantly hear, there's nothing for them.
It's a small population.
you'll figure it out. That has gone on for decades, but guess what? Not today.
Not today. Nowhere. And we work. WGI is a capacity-building organization, and that's something really exciting that our team is excited to welcome community providers in to talk about just
gender-responsive care for women and provide that education, but nowhere in the nation and where we work have we seen a major city like Chicago center the voices and leadership of impacted women and also commit to leverage citywide resources that are specifically gender-responsive and trauma-informed like this city, like today.
And we need to celebrate that. This is a landmark moment.
Not even, I'm going to take Collette's remarks, not even for Chicago, but for the country.
I will conclude, and I'm going to do 100 thank yous again.
Let me guess.
To the best freaking VFSS commissioner.
Commissioner Green, Deputy Mayor Great Gatewood, Director Mav.
Of course, Mayor Johnson, all of our stakeholders here who have been part of our journey today, Alderman Cicho Lopez, Alderman Mitts, like all of you, like we are so grateful.
Our team was sending, we got this word on Christmas, like the day before, and we were sending videos like around the country, like everyone was so happy.
We are so excited.
We are ready to serve women.
We are ready to transform systems.
We are ready to collaborate, and we are energized.
So thank you to everyone.
We are so proud of this, and we're ready to go.
And we want to thank everyone for being here today and being our partners, and more to come.
Thank you so much.
I was formerly a communications staffer, and I'm playing that role today.
I would like the mayor to join us at the podium.
I believe we're going to take some questions today.
Okay.
All right.
That sounds good.
yeah i think a number of folks can answer that question uh commissioner green or you know did
you want to both of you so um we talked a lot about gender-based violence and um the importance
of seeing women I you know I can relate to my experience doing my uh first incarceration at
the age of 14 and I was just a child so you're cycling in and out of a system um and I don't
believe I was seen um it started so you have to look at entire families um women have children
um to care for sometimes parents to care for whatever that looks like and it's hard to
accomplish things when you don't have the community or family support and it's just a checklist that
you have to check off so instead of someone asking me um what do you need and how can i help it's
like you got to do x y and z but i'm like that's not what i need that's that that's not what i need
um trauma informed care therapy um is what i i needed most to overcome some of those obstacles
that were in my head of as like I'm not going to make it after being told so many times hey we'll
leave the lights on for you we have a toothbrush waiting on you and I'm like this place is supposed
to be a place of rehabilitation and care prisons and jails but I'm not getting that I'm being told
you'll be back and we'll leave the lights on for you um until I figured it out and it was like okay
like when is it going to stop when is it going to end and how can i make this a mission
personal mission um for me to help those who are walking behind me or in my shoes and i've
dedicated uh you know my life's work to that um and it's it's important so it's many things that
we are not getting housing for us and our children which is housing is scarce so you kind of got to
work around that and rely on your community partners which we are doing here today um the
trauma-informed care again um family therapy like sometimes we have burned so many bridges
in our children when i think about the many how am i you said that last time my children are not
believing in me first of all because i've hurt them again so how can we come together and have
that community support to kind of circle around
and rally around this family to make sure that family
connection is tight first.
You know, I thank you for that question, and honestly, I have to give credit to the thought leadership of our Deputy Commissioner, Mark Sanders II,
in recognizing hearing from residents, hearing from our returning residents, hearing from agencies,
understanding that the program service that we're providing, sometimes we get into a place where we're giving templated services,
but there's unique differences in our gender and how that comes forward in the needs of our population.
So making sure we have something focused and centered on women to ensure that they have the individualized support that they need, recognizing typically they are connected to families.
They're connected to children that they also have to take care of.
Not that that's not a responsibility of a father, but we have that ownership in this society that we place it on women.
And so we recognize those distinct, unique differences and the need for them to have something that will cater to their needs.
So that's why this day is so critically important.
Doing very well, thank you.
A question for you and maybe Director Matt.
What's up, Director Matt?
The Office of Reentry just issued a report on its first year under your leadership.
Can you refresh our memory about the number of people who need reentry services in the city
and how many of those are with?
Yeah, go ahead.
Thank you.
So thank you for that question.
So annually, if you look at the IDOC website, just that cultural institution would let you know that 16,000 people are released from their custody annually.
And of that, 44 percent of that population returns back to Chicago.
If you look at Cook County Jail and their numbers tend to be different because they have independent divisions, but it's at least 10,000 people cycling in and out annually.
So you think about those numbers and think what percentage of women, although women is a small fraction of what's happening, women have a greater need.
You've heard the differences how women tend to sustain families.
Women tend to be the anchors and women tend to be the community builders.
And if they're not supported, the community is not supported.
So not having an actual number of what population returns because it looks different.
And thanks to W – oh, that's perfect.
We're going to get this number.
So the women's prison population today is about 1,400.
And we have about, I would say, 500 cycling back through the city of Chicago every year,
maybe a little more depending on length of stay.
And we have about 3,000 admissions of women per year to and from Cook County Jail of women.
Traditionally, women represent about 8 to 10 percent of the prison population of all prison populations.
But in community corrections and pretrial, you're seeing about 25, 30 percent of those individuals are women.
And disproportionately, the largest percentage of women going to prison historically and sadly for decades
are women from Chicago and Cook County cycling through the system.
So the good news is we are open for business come and join us like with any new announcement and new resources that will be rolling out that will be a process over the next the next month or so as we kind of roll out the various
components of this program but we are here our mission 24 7 is serving women
and we welcome women and gender expansive individuals to come and meet
with us and receive our care and services oh yeah 375 375,000 oh terrific
Mayor Johnson, President Trump has threatened to invoke the insurrection act to send federal troops to Minneapolis.
Have you spoken with the mayor of Minneapolis and offered assistance?
And does this give you concern that he might try to do something similar here in Chicago?
I have spoken with...
Mayor Frey, and really commend his strength and his moral clarity in this moment.
Look, the president continues to make threats against American cities and against working people.
Recently, we know that he just cut off $2 billion for mental health support services across our country.
The city of Chicago alone, we have serviced over 100,000 families
since we have reinvested in our mental and behavioral health care services.
Look, every single case that we have brought before the courts, we have prevailed.
This president continues to work outside of the confines of the Constitution.
It is a real severe abnormality that we have with this president in this moment.
And so it's incumbent upon all of us to continue to organize
and to use every single tool that's available to us to prevent the spread of the type of vile nature that's coming from his office.
And speaking of the legal challenge, the DOJ has signaled it wants to settle the lawsuit filed
over the potential deployment of military troops into Chicago and Illinois.
Do you think the city and the state ought to settle that suit, or do you think it's better to allow that to go to Trump?
You know, look, I think it's important that, you know, the full process continues to unfold because we just cannot trust that this president is ever going to get right.
We just can't. And there are very few checks and balances that exist in our country to date.
grateful again that we have mayors across this country that are
elevating the consciousness of America, because we're the ones
who are on the ground responding to the needs of working people.
So the fact that there's some
insinuation that somehow this could be settled certainly helps me draw
a conclusion that there is an admission there, that they are working well outside
the confines of the Constitution, and it's incumbent upon all of us to ensure that we hold them
accountable should this be a motivation for Illinois to get something done for
the bears in Arlington Heights and could you if things are taken care of with
so that you'll get behind keeping them and otherwise in our lives tonight?
Well, look, and I can't speak to, you know, whatever the governor of Indiana is promising.
You know, what I can say is that I've been, you know, incredibly committed and forthright in my position
and where the Chicago Bears belong.
And, you know, I believe that, you know, and I've said this repeatedly,
This is not just about an investment in a stadium.
We're talking about the entire footprint of that campus.
You know, the museum campus is the top destination for tourism in the state of Illinois, right?
So whatever investment that we provide along the lakefront is just only going to increase our economic viability.
You know, as far as anything outside of the city of Chicago, I'm responsible for one city,
And I'm going to continue to advocate for the best frequent city in the world, which that's where the Bears belong, in the city of Chicago.
The doctor seems to be signaling that maybe there is something a little more that the state could be doing to help the island tonight's move.
Well, I mean, look, again, I've said repeatedly that, you know, we have to have a public benefit and a public use for this stadium.
And when I stood alongside of ownership and President Kevin Warren, that proposal was the realization of my vision, public benefit, public use.
They made a commitment to paying off the debt of the old stadium.
They were prepared to put 72 percent of their own money into this stadium.
And the city of Chicago would own it.
Right. And so there's always been clarity around the infrastructure needs that that that the lakefront deserves and needs, particularly as our city continues to become, you know, stronger economically.
And so I'm not saying that it's troubling. I think what it is, it's a reflection of what I've been saying all along, that it's going to take all of us to work together to come up with a package and a deal that keeps the Chicago Bears in the city of Chicago.
I mean, by a show of hands, anybody want to drive to Indiana to watch the Bears?
All right, there you have it.
All right, thank you all very much.
Okay, is that it?
All right, thanks, y'all.
All right, go Bears.