‘Indiana is moving fast’: Arlington Heights group rallies to keep Bears in Illinois

As the Bears’ stadium flirtation with Indiana heats up, backers of the team’s relocation to Arlington Heights plan to rally the troops next week to keep the NFL franchise on this side of the state line.

Touchdown Arlington, the coalition of business owners who support the team’s move to town, announced Tuesday plans for a public event “to show broad, visible community support” for tax break legislation that would bring a stadium and mixed-use district to the Arlington Park property. They’re cohosting it with Meet Chicago Northwest, the convention and visitors bureau covering the Northwest suburbs.

Dubbed “Springfield Kickoff: Bring the Bears to Arlington Heights,” the event is scheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 11, at the DoubleTree Arlington Heights hotel.

Those scheduled to attend and speak include Mayor Jim Tinaglia and other elected officials from across the Northwest suburbs who will lobby for the so-called megaproject bill.

“The message is simple: Illinois, Cook County and the Northwest suburbs cannot afford to lose this project to Indiana,” according to a Touchdown Arlington email blast sent to supporters Tuesday.

“Decisions are being shaped now, and a strong turnout sends a clear signal that residents and business leaders are engaged, informed and united. A Bears decision is imminent, Indiana is moving fast and it is critical that the entire region rally around Arlington Heights as the only Illinois option.”

Many of the same local leaders planning to attend the event next week were at a “Keep the Bears in Illinois” press conference that Tinaglia and village officials organized last month. They touted long-stalled legislation in Springfield that would allow the Bears to negotiate directly with local governments including school districts over the amount of property taxes to be paid for up to 40 years.

Since the Jan. 16 event at Arlington Heights village hall, legislation that would entice a Bears move to Northwest Indiana has been making its way through the statehouse in Indianapolis.

The Indiana Senate on Jan. 28 advanced a bill creating the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority, which would acquire land and issue bonds to pay for a new publicly owned stadium to be leased to the Bears for at least 35 years. The Bears could keep revenue generated there to help pay the rent, and would have the option to buy the building for the cost of the outstanding debt, or for a $1 if the bonds are already paid off.

The bill passed the Senate by a 46-2 vote, and now goes to the House, where Speaker Todd Huston has been supportive. But he has also said he wants to see a “commitment” from the Bears that they’re actually going to make the move across state lines before sending the bill to Gov. Mike Braun’s desk.

The team is eyeing land near Wolf Lake in Hammond — just across the border from Chicago’s Hegewisch neighborhood.

Back in Arlington Heights, Touchdown Arlington on Tuesday pitched a Bears redevelopment of the 326-acre former racetrack as a “once-in-a-generation economic development opportunity” that would bring jobs, infrastructure improvements and tax base growth to the Northwest suburbs.

“It’s been a wild ride on the journey to get the Bears to Arlington Heights,” the Touchdown Arlington email message stated. “We are still working toward this goal, and we are at the most critical junction yet.”

Their pitch to Springfield legislators will come a week before Gov. JB Pritzker is set to deliver his budget and State of the State address. Illinois lawmakers are in session until May 31, while Indiana lawmakers are set to adjourn at the end of this month.