‘Done deal’ or ‘door remains open’? In latest stadium shift, Bears board advances Indiana plan

Days after the Illinois legislature punted on legislation for a Bears stadium in Arlington Heights, team officials said Friday they’re going to Indiana.

“Yesterday, the Chicago Bears Board of Directors met and voted to advance our stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana, with the exact site to be selected,” according to a statement from Chairman George McCaskey and President/CEO Kevin Warren. “We believe a world-class stadium project in Hammond will transform the region, connecting Northwest Indiana to the South Side of Chicago through the Loop and across neighborhoods and suburbs stretching north of the city. It will bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.”

The statement comes some four days after a marathon end of session in Springfield where lawmakers declined to move legislation sought by the team for a long-term property tax break at the 326-acre Arlington Park property purchased in 2023.

Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tinaglia, who previously called the outcome in Springfield Monday morning “a fumble for the state of Illinois,” on Friday said he accepts that the team is now focused on Indiana.

“While we are certainly disappointed in this change of direction, I would like to be clear that our village’s focus will always remain on serving our residents and supporting our local businesses, while positioning Arlington Heights as a premier community,” Tinaglia said. “The Arlington Park property is just one element of what makes our village so special, and we remain focused on the many priorities that contribute to Arlington Heights’ ongoing success.”

A spokesman for Gov. JB Pritzker took aim at the NFL club for “shifting” its position on a stadium location over the last six years, especially the last few months.

“That has hindered their progress,” said spokesman Matt Hill. “Today appears to be another instance of that after Illinois leaders have been working with the Bears in good faith. Gov. Pritzker has always been clear that he wants the Bears to stay in Illinois and still remains open to a sensible solution that protects taxpayers.”

In a statement on social media, Indiana Gov. Mike Braun proclaimed: “Welcome to Indiana!”

“We look forward to building a partnership as strong as the ’85 Bears defense, creating opportunities and economic growth that will benefit our state and the Bears organization for decades to come,” Braun wrote. “An NFL franchise in Northwest Indiana will be an economic boost to the entire region like we haven’t seen before.”

State Sen. Mark Walker, the Arlington Heights Democrat who was one of the early sponsors of Bears-backed megaproject legislation, declared: “I think it’s a done deal.”

“We got outbid with cash from the taxpayers of Indiana,” he told the Daily Herald. “That’s the bottom line.”

Other politicians were less certain, noting ambiguity in the Bears’ three-sentence statement.

State Rep. Kam Buckner, the lead House Democratic negotiator on Bears legislation, said Warren notified him before the team was about to release its statement about Hammond. Warren “ended the conversation by committing to continue discussions around their pursuit of a new stadium in Illinois,” Buckner said.

“ … The Bears’ own language leaves additional flexibility and does not represent a final decision,” Buckner said in a lengthy social media post. “The carefully crafted statement also uses words that describe a process that is continuing, rather than reaching a conclusion.”

“Neither the statement nor my conversation with Kevin suggested that Illinois is off the table,” Buckner added.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, whose lobbying of city legislators in recent weeks may have spiked a Bears suburban relocation, said the team’s announcement Friday was “not surprising,” since Bears brass have stated their intentions in multiple jurisdictions over the last several years.

“Without a final site selection, until we see shovels in the ground in Hammond, the city of Chicago will continue to engage in discussions grounded in the interests of our residents,” Johnson said.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who previously tried to get the Bears to take a look at the former Michael Reese Hospital site in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, said she remains willing to talk with team owners and state leaders “to explore a path that keeps the Bears in Illinois.”

“As those conversations continue, I am committed to solutions that protect taxpayer dollars while continuing to support the legacy of the Bears in our state,” Preckwinkle added.

Legislation that would have allowed the Bears to negotiate tax payments directly with Arlington Heights-area school districts and other local governments for up to 40 years was approved in the House in April but didn’t have the votes in the supermajority Senate Democratic caucus. An alternate proposal — drawn up and advanced on the Senate side overnight Sunday — would have empowered municipalities like Arlington Heights and Chicago to create their own local public stadium authorities.

But by the time the House got the bill — 3:40 a.m. Monday — members said they didn’t have enough time to digest it all, and adjourned an hour later.

“The reason we preferred that in the Senate was that it reflected the discussions we believe the Bears had with Chicago, not with Indiana,” Walker said. “Since the Bears had talked to both Indiana and apparently Chicago about such a structure, we thought, why not go to that structure, because it actually costs the taxpayers less money and it allows other investors a route to get into the deal.”

State Rep. Nicolle Grasse, an Arlington Heights Democrat, believes the megaproject bill was the right pathway to a Bears stadium redevelopment at the shuttered racetrack.

“While Indiana is willing to raise taxes and place additional burdens on working families in a bid to draw in the Bears, that’s not in the best interest of people in our community,” Grasse said. “I am determined to see the Arlington Park site be responsibly developed, whether through continued conversations with the Bears or other parties.”

House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, too, defended the bill that passed out of his chamber in April, while criticizing the competing legislation that sailed through the Indiana legislature. The latter measure would create a public stadium authority in Northwest Indiana to acquire land, issue bonds, build a stadium, and lease it to the Bears for at least 35 years.

“In April, the House passed an economic development package that was the product of extensive negotiation with the Bears and other stakeholders. That bipartisan legislation reflected our belief that we can incentivize statewide development and provide property tax relief for working people,” Welch said. “While Indiana is willing to raise taxes and promise $1 billion in taxpayer funds, Illinois has focused on the needs of working families who want relief at the gas pump, at the store, and on their insurance bills — not taxpayer-funded stadiums.”

“Illinois remains open to ongoing efforts to secure the Bears in Illinois,” he added. “However, it will take time to get it right.”

Senate President Don Harmon wasn’t ready to declare game over either. He said Friday’s declaration by the team “isn’t fundamentally different than what the team said in February after Indiana voted to give the Chicago Bears more than a billion dollars in taxpayer money if they move to Indiana. But that didn’t stop their conversations about a future here in Illinois, and it doesn’t appear that today’s statement will either.”

“We are ready and willing to reengage with the Chicago Bears when they realize Illinois will always be the best place for them,” Harmon said.

Senate Republican Leader John Curran of Downers Grove called on Pritzker to “Bear Down,” address infighting in the Democratic legislative caucuses and bring Republicans into the process to produce a bipartisan plan to keep the team in Illinois.

“Gov. Pritzker needs to understand that failing to produce a serious proposal after three years to keep the Chicago Bears in Illinois isn’t good faith negotiation — it’s dysfunction,” Curran said.

Ernie Rose, who is part of the Touchdown Arlington business group that has advocated for the team’s relocation to the suburbs, called Friday’s announcement by the Bears “the clearest wake-up call yet.”

“Illinois needs to stop the infighting and get serious about keeping the Bears in Illinois,” said Rose, an Arlington Heights attorney. “For three years, we have argued over where the Bears should build instead of rallying around the only Illinois site they are actually interested in, Arlington Heights. Indiana has moved quickly, aggressively, and with bipartisan support. Illinois has put nothing comparable on the table.”

Rose wants legislative leaders to call a special session “and get Illinois back in the game before it is too late.”

Welch has resisted calling a special session. Lawmakers wouldn’t otherwise be scheduled to return to Springfield until November.

Walker believes the Bears may not end up in Hammond — the team has been conducting due diligence on a site near Wolf Lake since December — but further east in Portage, which was among the Northwest Indiana towns that tried to lure the team.

“I personally never thought Indiana was a bluff,” Walker said. “If in the end they go there remains to be seen. These are very complex problems to be solved both here and there as far as infrastructure, traffic, rail lines, environmental, and they have the same challenges that we have.”

“If the Bears are interested, we’re interested,” Walker said of the possibility of future talks. “But in the end, we put this ball into the Bears’ court.”

ˑ Daily Herald staff writer Russell Lissau contributed to this report.