New Arlington Heights mayor meets with Chicago Bears president before taking oath of office

CBS News

06-05-2025

The new mayor of Arlington Heights, Illinois, got to work before he even took the oath of office on Monday.
Mayor James Tinaglia is an architect who served as village trustee for 12 years.
He met with Chicago Bears president and CEO Kevin Warren on Monday before taking the oath of office.
The Bears own a 326-acre property, which was the former Arlington Park racetrack, and recently resolved a property tax dispute over the site.
The Bears have said they're focused on both Arlington Heights and the Chicago lakefront for a new stadium.
Tinaglia has said he supports a new Bears stadium in Arlington Heights, but the franchise and the village need to come to an agreement on common goals.
"The common goals are win-win — win-win meaning the Bears. I know the Bears have to have a good solution. Otherwise, they're not going to come," he said after he was elected last month. "But they have to know that our residents need a good solution. Otherwise, we can't let them come."
Tinaglia said there are four items that need to be taken care of for a new Bears stadium in Arlington Heights to succeed.
"Number one, the development has to be safe," he said. "It has to be really well thought-out, so safety is paramount."
Tinaglia said the economics of the stadium plan also have to work for both the Bears and the village, so as to make sure "everybody wins financially on this."
"Third, traffic has to be really well thought-out and controlled. We can't have our neighborhoods wrecked because traffic wasn't thought out well enough," he said, "and fourth, the infrastructure — whether that's stormwater management, and roads, and everything else, fire, police — all of those things have to be well thought out."
Tinaglia has also expressed concerns about strains on village staffing as a result of the stadium.