What the Nov. 3 Election Means for the Bears and Arlington Heights

Author’s note: I gathered the information in this post from public reporting, government documents and public records, including unofficial election-night returns. It reflects what was known as of November 4, 2026. Vote totals are unofficial until certified by election authorities. Sources are linked at the bottom. If you spot an error or have a tip, please let me know. — Joe Bjorklund

Bottom line (as of November 4, 2026): The November 3 election did not approve a Bears stadium anywhere. Gov. JB Pritzker won a third term and says he wants Bears legislation passed in the fall veto session (November 17–19 and December 1–3). The incumbent Democrats representing Arlington Heights in the Illinois House, and the Democratic candidate for the area’s state Senate seat, were projected winners. No stadium bill had been filed as of November 4, and the Bears’ stated focus remains Hammond, Indiana. See the status tracker for the current state of play.

Did the election decide whether the Bears move to Arlington Heights?

No. Voters did not weigh in on the stadium directly, and no ballot question in Arlington Heights asked about it. Any move would still need state legislation, a decision by the Bears to change course from Hammond, approval by NFL owners and a series of local votes and hearings in Arlington Heights. What the election did settle is who will be in office when lawmakers return to Springfield later this month.

Governor: Pritzker wins a third term

Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, defeated Republican Darren Bailey in a rematch of their 2022 race. Networks projected the result as soon as polls closed at 7 p.m. on November 3. With roughly 91% of the expected vote counted, NBC Chicago’s results showed Pritzker at about 59.8% and Bailey at about 36.8%, with independent Collin Corbett at about 3.3%. CBS Chicago reported that Pritzker is the first Democrat elected to a third term as Illinois governor. His new running mate, Christian Mitchell, becomes lieutenant governor.

Why it matters for the stadium: any Bears bill needs the governor’s signature. In his election-night remarks, as reported by Capitol News Illinois, Pritzker looked ahead to the fall veto session, where he hopes to pass legislation “to keep the Bears in Illinois” along with data center regulation. That is a stated goal, not a scheduled vote. Pritzker has said for months that a deal should not put taxpayers on the hook for the stadium itself, while separating the building from public infrastructure such as roads.

Arlington Heights’ state legislators

The Daily Herald treated these three races as the Arlington Heights-area legislative contests. NBC Chicago projected winners in all three, based on about 93% of the expected vote:

Race	Projected winner	Opponent	Unofficial share
Illinois House, 53rd District	Nicolle Grasse (D, incumbent)	Elizabeth Bauer (R)	65.4% to 34.6%
Illinois House, 54th District	Mary Beth Canty (D, incumbent)	Joseph Tracy (R)	66.6% to 33.4%
Illinois Senate, 27th District	Carina Santa Maria (D)	David Mathis (R)	65.8% to 34.2%

Patch, which describes Santa Maria as an Arlington Heights village trustee, reported her total at 42,601 votes to Mathis’s 22,116 with all 116 precincts counted. Those figures are unofficial.

Where the winners stand on the Bears

Before the election, the Daily Herald asked area candidates about the stadium proposals. In brief, based on their answers:

Mary Beth Canty (54th): backs the House megaprojects approach (HB 910), wants a clear statewide megaprojects policy, and wants to keep Arlington Heights in play on terms that protect taxpayers.
Nicolle Grasse (53rd): still favors the payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) financing from the original House bill, saying it would bring all local taxing bodies to the table.
Carina Santa Maria (27th Senate): open to long-term property tax certainty for the team if schools and residents are protected; supports state help with infrastructure but called the process too slow and fragmented.

That matters because the fall framework that has been reported — but not filed — looks more like the Senate’s stadium-authority approach (HB 958 Senate Amendment 2) than the House’s PILOT bill. How the area’s own legislators vote on whatever language emerges will be worth watching. For background, see What Is a Stadium Authority? and the Nov. 3 election guide.

District 214’s $295 million school bond question

Township High School District 214 — one of the taxing districts whose revenue would be affected by any property tax arrangement for an Arlington Park stadium — asked voters to approve $295 million in bonds. According to Patch, the money would pay for safety, infrastructure, mechanical and instructional-space work at six high schools and Forest View Educational Center. On election night Patch reported the measure appeared headed for approval. I did not find final vote totals in the sources I reviewed, so treat that as an early, unofficial result. The bond question is separate from the stadium, but both bear on the same local tax base.

Meanwhile in Hammond

The Indiana side has not gone quiet. Speaking on October 30 at a Northwest Indiana business event, Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. said the situation is “changing every second,” according to the Post-Tribune story carried by the Daily Herald. He said closing a stadium deal is his top priority and that Bears president Kevin Warren favors the Wolf Lake Terminal site in north Hammond. The Bears have not publicly changed their position that Hammond is their focus.

What happens next

Now through November 16: watch for a bill to be filed, and for its number and effective date.
November 17–19: first week of the veto session.
December 1–3: second week, when Pritzker has said he is hopeful for a vote, according to earlier reporting.
Later: certification of the November 3 results; new legislators take office in January.

I’ll update the status tracker and the timeline as soon as anything official happens.