Bears stadium legislation advances in Indiana as Illinois hearing abruptly canceled

An Indiana House committee advanced legislation that would support a new Bears stadium in Hammond on Thursday morning, just as a scheduled hearing on competing Illinois legislation in Springfield was abruptly canceled.

The Indiana House Ways and Means Committee voted 24-0 for a bill that would create a public authority to acquire land, issue bonds, build a stadium, and lease it to the Bears. Senate Bill 27 is now pending a vote in the full House, after an earlier version of the legislation passed the Senate 46-2 on Jan. 28.

“The passage of Senate Bill 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date, 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,” according to a Bears statement read by Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston during the committee meeting Thursday morning.

Bears officials called the legislation “a critical framework and path forward to deliver a premier venue for all Chicagoland and the destination for Bears fans and visitors from across the globe.”

The statement thanked Huston, Gov. Mike Braun, Sen. Ryan Mishler and members of the Indiana General Assembly.

“We value our partnership and look forward to continuing to build our working relationship together,” the Bears said.

Thursday was the deadline for the Bears legislation to advance out of committee, ahead of the scheduled Feb. 27 adjournment of the Indiana legislature.

In Springfield, a hearing on Bears stadium property tax break legislation had been scheduled for 8 a.m. Thursday before the House Revenue and Finance Committee — the same time as the committee meeting in Indianapolis — but was canceled early Thursday.

On Wednesday, Gov. JB Pritzker said “progress has been made” during closed-door discussions over a stadium deal in Arlington Heights.

“Illinois was ready to move this bill forward,” Pritzker spokesman Matt Hill said in a statement Thursday morning. “After a productive three-hour meeting yesterday, the Bears leaders requested the (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.”

Legislators returned to Springfield for their spring session this month, and are scheduled to adjourn May 31.

Check back later to dailyherald.com for updates.