Chicago mayor makes stunning admission about attending Bears game while trying to keep team in city

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is not a fan of waiting hours to get home from a day out at Soldier Field.

Johnson is battling to keep the Bears in Chicago, but it’s pretty clear that he’d like to make some major changes to getting in and out of the stadium.

In an appearance on 104.3 The Score in Chicago, Johnson admitted to leaving a game early to beat the traffic.

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An American flag is displayed on the field before the NFC Divisional Playoffs game between the Chicago Bears and the Los Angeles Rams at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, on Jan. 18, 2026. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

“Getting in and out of Soldier Field is an absolute nightmare. Let me tell you how bad it is. Bears vs. (Green Bay) Packers; I’m at the game, we’re losing. I decide to leave to beat the traffic,” Johnson said.

It is not known which NFC North rivalry game Johnson attended, but if it was the most recent one, he may be kicking himself.

“Before I get out of the footprint, the Bears had come back to win,” Johnson said.

The Bears completed a comeback against the Packers in the Wild Card round of the playoffs this past season for perhaps the biggest victory the franchise has had since making the Super Bowl in the 2006 season.

Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams celebrates after an NFL wild-card playoff game against the Green Bay Packers in Chicago on Jan. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

PRITZKER HITS CHICAGO MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON FOR HAVING ‘NO PLAN’ TO KEEP THE BEARS IN THE CITY

The team has made it clear to the NFL on multiple occasions, including late last month at an NFL meeting in Orlando, they are leaving the city and will build a new stadium either in Arlington Heights, Illinois, or in Hammond, Indiana.

“The team has been clear with the city of Chicago and state leaders there are only two viable stadium locations under consideration, Arlington Heights and Hammond, and a decision is expected between the two later this spring or early summer,” the team said in a statement released Wednesday evening.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has launched a community engagement effort called “Repair Chicago” to gather experiences of harm of Black Chicagoans as part of an effort to implement reparations. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

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So it does not sound like Johnson did himself many favors in trying to convince anyone to keep the Bears in his city.

Outkick’s Armando Salguero contributed to this report.

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