Outgoing Bears president scores buyer on hurry-up play in Libertyville

The former president of the Chicago Bears stuck with a no-huddle playbook to bring a deal for a Libertyville home listed for $1.2 million into the redzone.

Ted Phillips, who’s retiring in February after working for the Chicago Bears for 40 years, listed his four-bedroom Libertyville home for $1.19 million on Jan. 10 and found a buyer less than a week later, the Chicago Tribune reported. The home at 125 East Ellis Avenue has been marked “contingent” on the MLS, which usually indicates buyers agreed to purchase the home once they sell their current property.

The pace of deals for high-end homes in Chicago hasn’t slowed as much as the broader market’s reaction to higher interest rates that have put the brakes on sales of many properties under $1 million. Homes costing $4 million or more have been especially insulated from the deceleration.

Yet the lower end of the luxury market has started to slip. Sales of $1 million or more in the Chicago area dropped 35 percent in the last quarter of 2022 as compared to the same period the year prior, meaning the quick deal for Phillips home, if it holds near its asking price at closing, could stand out in the market.

Phillips’ 3,860-square-foot home has a kitchen with quartz countertops, all-new stainless steel appliances and a large counter island with an adjacent breakfast nook. It also features built-in shelving.

Phillips and his wife Ann bought the home in 2009 for $900,000, according to the Lake County Recorder of Deeds. The home is located eight miles from the Bears’ training facility in Lake Forest.

Phillips joined the Chicago Bears as a controller in 1983. He served as vice president for six seasons, beginning in 1993 and became president and CEO in 1999. He oversaw multiple projects during his tenure, including the renovation of Halas Hall and the relocation of the team’s operations within the city of Chicago from Soldier Field to a space downtown. He announced he would retire after the 2022 season.

The home’s primary suite has another stone fireplace as well as a walk-in closet and ensuite bathroom. There is also a finished basement with 9-foot-tall ceilings, a fourth full bathroom, media room, exercise room and space for storage. In addition, the home’s closets were professionally designed by storage professionals.

Elizabeth Bryant with Baird & Warner was the listing agent for the property, which had a $24,267 property tax bill in 2021.