Despite recent work in Springfield, the Chicago Bears appear to be poised to leave the state.
Indiana lawmakers announced Feb. 19 that they have struck a deal to potentially locate the football team’s new stadium Hammond, Indiana, pending the passage of the bill, according to a report from the IndyStar.
The Chicago Bears released a statement on Feb. 19 further supporting their possible move to northwest Indiana.
“The passage of SB 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date,” the Bears wrote in a statement, speaking about Indiana legislation. “We are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana.”
A communications staff person for Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker also weighed in, following a cancelled revenue and finance committee meeting on Feb. 19.
“Illinois was ready to move this bill forward,” wrote Matt Hill on the social media platform X. Hill is the Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications to Gov. Pritzker.
“After a productive three hour meeting yesterday, the Bears leaders requested the ILGA (Illinois General Assembly) pause the hearing to make further tweaks to the bill. This morning, we were surprised to see a statement lauding Indiana and ignoring Illinois.”
The bill in question, Illinois House Bill 2789, would freeze the Bears’ property tax assessment and instead allow the organization to negotiate a payment with local taxing bodies for up to 40 years.
On Feb. 17, Capitol News Illinois reported the legislation had “positive momentum,” and as Hill mentioned, lawmakers were meeting with leadership from the Bears on hashing out details for a new potential domed stadium in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
Pritzker says Bears statement is ‘very disappointing’
Pritzker told reporters at an unrelated event on Feb. 19 that the statement came as a surprise and that it was “very disappointing to hear that they would put that statement out but not say anything about the advancement that’s been made in the state of Illinois.”
Pritzker’s team met with Bears representatives on Feb. 18 for more than three hours, Pritzker said, which were “very positive discussions.”
Like Hill, Pritzker said the Bears wanted to tweak a couple of items in the Illinois bill and that Pritzker’s team was working with them on those items.
Pritzker said the Bears told his team that the recent statement is not confirmation that they are moving to Indiana, “but rather that Indiana had asked them to say that they’re going to move forward with the negotiations in Indiana,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker and his team are waiting to hear from the Bears about what they would like to do next.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, responding to a post on social media containing the Bear’s recent statement, said, “Indiana is open for business, and our pro-growth environment continues to attract major opportunities like this partnership with the Chicago Bears.
“We’ve identified a promising site near Wolf Lake in Hammond and established a broad framework for negotiating a final deal,” Braun continued. “If approved, the proposed amendment to Senate Bill 27 puts forward the essential framework to complete this agreement, contingent upon site due diligence proceeding smoothly. The State of Indiana moves at the speed of business, and we’ve demonstrated that through our quick coordination between state agencies, local government, and the legislature to set the stage for a huge win for all Hoosiers. We have built a strong relationship with the Bears organization that will serve as the foundation for a public-private partnership, leading to the construction of a world-class stadium and a win for taxpayers.”
It is not immediately clear if or when the House will vote on the Indiana bill, but it would need to do so before session ends on Feb. 27.
Hammond, Indiana is about 30 miles from downtown Chicago.
(This story is updated with new information.)
Tom Ackerman covers breaking news and trending news along with general news for the Springfield State Journal-Register. He can be reached at tackerman@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Chicago Bears say they’re ‘committed’ to new stadium in Indiana
Reporting by Tom Ackerman, Springfield State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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