The chances the Chicago Bears will make Charleston their permanent training camp home are looking pretty good. And why shouldn’t they? When it comes down to it, Charleson and Eastern have the perfect appeal.

Let’s run down the list of other contenders…

Rockford College. Ok, I don’t know much about Rockford College. In fact, I don’t know anything about Rockford College. But I’m pretty sure they haven’t hosted a pro team before, like Eastern did with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1976 and throughout the `80s. They’re not in Chicago, but they’re close. Chances are, however, they don’t have the attractive dormitories and four practice fields Eastern has. Chances of the Bears moving to Rockford: doubtful.

Millikin University in Decatur. Just being in Decatur and smelling that horrid soybean plant should be enough to drive the Bears away. The Bears were there before in their days of the Decatur Staleys, but that’s about as close as they’ll come to getting this NFL team.

There are more issues that will drive the Monsters of the Midway away from what I’ve heard called “the armpit of Illinois” than clean air issues. Millikin doesn’t have the practice facilities to hold the Bears and would have to find the space and the money to build them in likely less than a year. The chances of the community coming together and backing anything in Decatur are slim to none. Chances of the Bears going Decatur: When Hell freezes over.

Knox College in Galesburg. Home of the Silver Streaks becoming home of the Bears? Highly unlikely. I’m shocked Knox even has football, and I know they don’t have the kind of facilities already in place that Eastern does.

The four fields Eastern has aren’t the only benefit. Eastern has three dorms in close proximity not to mention a newly renovated state-of-the-art Fieldhouse open to the Bears. Chances of the Bears going to Galesburg: About the same as former Galesburg High School star and former Iowa player and drop out Joey Range going back and graduating from any college – none.

Monmouth College in Monmouth: If you’ve even been to Monmouth you can check that one off the top of your list of obscure places to travel to in Illinois. I, however, have been to the small farm town in Western Illinois.

Monmouth has plenty of space to build and create fields for the Bears. However, they’ll run into problems supporting the team with dorms, large class rooms, meeting rooms, weight rooms and indoor training facilities.

Plus, if all these people are supposed to be coming to watch the Bears practice, where are they going to stay? Most of them certainly won’t have anywhere to stay in Monmouth. Have fun commuting from at least a half an hour away to the middle of nowhere. Chances of the Bears going to Monmouth, the home of the Zippers: About as good as finding any random Eastern student that’s stepped foot in that town – forgettaboutit.

Olivet Nazarene University in Kankakee: What’s the second worst possible location behind Decatur? Kankakee. The small religious school, which doesn’t allow members of the opposite sex to ever step foot in the same residence hall, is known for it’s success as a NAIA football program. Even if this blue collar town may has some appeal, it’s doubtful such a small school would have the facilities, dorm rooms , class rooms and indoor facilites that the Bears would need. Chances of Bears going to Kankakee: About as good as anyone wanting to live in Decatur – slim, but possible if desperate.

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville: SIUE doesn’t even have a football program, so the chances of them having the kind of facilities the Bears desire are very slim. Word has it, Edwardsville built some kind of Olympic track center there, but that’s likely not enough to attract the Bears alone. Chanes of Bears going to E-ville: Better than Decatur and Monmouth, but highly unlikely.

Southern Illinois University at Carbondale: Ok, now we’re starting to get into some better competitors. The Salukis likely have some pretty good facilities to offer. They’re REC center is very similar to Eastern’s as are the dorm facilities.

They have an astroturf stadium that could see unlimited use, something Eastern can’t offer with O’Brien. However, pro athletes can’t be too optimistic are about training on turf, and the trainers and equipment managers are extremely concerned for players’ health in the spring.

There is a lot of space in Carbondale, but I know they don’t have four practice fields currently in place. The community definitely has the capability of holding guests and dealing with tourism, maybe even better than Charleston and Mattoon do.

It’s also a plus for the Bears because they’d be exposing themselves to a whole new region of fans. However, Carbondale is a long way, but if it’s a remote location the Bears are looking for, Charleston would be just as good and closer.

Carbondale also lacks the experience of hosting a pro team previously and would likely have to spend more money and make more changes than Eastern would. Chances of Bears going to Carbondale: Pretty decent, but in the end not as good as Chucktown.

Illinois State University in Bloomington: ISU is another top competitor and likely more attractive than Carbondale. They’re closer than Carbondale and they, too can handle an influx of tourists. They, too have an astroturf stadium. So, they’re pretty equal with SIU in those regards. They have less space and certainly don’t have four practice fields in place. Their indoor facilities are very comparable to SIU and Eastern. But, they also don’t have the experience of hosting an NFL team and they, too would have to come up with a lot of bucks to please the Bears. Chances of Bears going to Bloomington: A little better than Carbondale, but not quite as good as Charleston.

University of Illinois: They could have the best chances. The Bears are looking to relocate there for the 2002 season any way while Soldier Field undergoes renovations. Champaign definitely can handle the tourists and it would be an attractive place for fans to visit. There’s more stuff to do in Champaign/Urbana than probably anywhere else.

They have very nice indoor facilities, including their bubble practice facility. But as far as outdoor facilities, they only have Memorial Stadium and the adjacent practice field. They certainly don’t have four practice fields with the possibility for more.

Once again, they don’t have the experience of running a pro camp before to fall back on. Although, I’m sure the Bears would be more confident in the U of I taking on these new responsibilities than any other university. Plus, the organization has already been dealing with that university on a regular basis.

But in the end, why would a team want to practice preseason in the same place they are going to be playing? The whole point of training camp is to get away to a remote place where the team can get focused. The Bears really can’t do that in Champaign. Chances of Bears going to Champaign: Perhaps best of the rest, but in the end, the Bears go to Chucktown.

It seems like common sense to me, but perhaps the Bears will see something in Monmouth the rest of us wouldn’t. But that’s doubtful. Passing up Charleston is like passing up an inexpensive, veteran, dependable kicker in the NFL. You could do it, but it wouldn’t be smart.