Bears bill passes Indiana House; Pritzker says competing legislation in Springfield is ‘in a good place’

As Indiana’s House passed its Bears stadium bill Tuesday, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said there is agreement on competing legislation in Springfield, but now it’s up to legislators to move it forward.

“Lots of conversation and agreement on everything really, as far as I can tell, with regard to a bill that provides what (the Bears) call tax certainty,” Pritzker said during an event Tuesday morning on Chicago’s South Side.

“They proposed a few changes over the last couple of weeks,” he added. “There’s been really broad agreement about those. And the leaders of Arlington Heights and the surrounding communities all seem to be on board as well.

“The legislators themselves have to make decisions about this,” Pritzker said. “But I think we’re in a good place with regard to that bill.”

The governor’s comments came before the Indiana House voted 95-4 Tuesday afternoon to pass legislation that would create a public stadium authority to acquire land near Wolf Lake in Hammond, issue bonds, build a stadium, and lease it to the Bears for up to 35 years.

The measure now goes back to the Indiana Senate for a concurrence vote, since it was amended after passing that chamber 46-2 on Jan. 28. Indiana’s legislative session ends Friday, and Gov. Mike Braun has promised to sign the bill.

Back in Springfield, the House Revenue and Finance Committee briefly met Tuesday morning, but didn’t yet take up the Bears-backed megaproject legislation. The so-called Payments in Lieu of Taxes financing mechanism detailed in the bill would give the NFL franchise a large property tax break at its 326-acre property in Arlington Heights by allowing the team to negotiate payment amounts directly with local taxing bodies for up to 40 years.

The House panel was set to conduct its first public hearing on the long-stalled proposal last Thursday, but the meeting was abruptly canceled when Bears brass asked General Assembly leaders for a delay so more tweaks could be made to the bill, Pritzker has said.

The same day, an Indiana House committee advanced legislation of its own, and the Bears released a statement saying the team is “committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence” at the Hammond site.

Perhaps to allay concerns in Springfield — Pritzker said he was “surprised” and “dismayed” by the Bears’ messaging — Bears President/CEO Kevin Warren put out a new statement over the weekend.

“We continue to work with Illinois’ leadership and appreciate the progress being made,” he told Crain’s Chicago Business.

A new hearing on the megaproject bill is now scheduled for 8 a.m. this Thursday.

Politicians on both sides of the state line Tuesday ramped up their rhetoric in the interstate tug of war over the Bears.

Pritzker questioned if Hoosier taxpayers want to pay for a publicly owned stadium.

“I’m very interested to see how the people of Indiana, the voters of Indiana, feel about the massive increases in taxes that are being proposed, about paying for a stadium in Indiana for the Chicago Bears,” the Chicago Democrat said. “I’m going to do everything I can without harming the taxpayers of the state of Illinois in the process of making sure that we can do everything we can to keep them in the state.”

Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, a Republican from Fishers, said the proposed funding mechanisms for the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority mirror those used to build Lucas Oil Stadium and Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Under the plan, the state would finance a portion of the bonds for the project and repay them through revenues generated in and around the stadium and through a renegotiated Indiana Toll Road lease.

Among the new revenues: a 12% Hammond admissions tax, a 5% innkeepers tax in Lake County, and 1% food and beverage taxes in Lake and Porter counties.

“This project will be paid for by those benefiting from this investment, those who visit, those who stay in the hotels, eat, shop in the area establishments, and attend these events,” said Huston, noting that even during the pandemic, state funds didn’t need to be tapped to cover payments for the Indianapolis stadiums. “This is what Team Indiana is. At the end of the day, we get things done.”

Huston touted what the project could mean for economic development, jobs, population growth, tourism, new businesses and tax revenue in Northwest Indiana.

State Rep. Earl Harris Jr., an East Chicago Democrat, said the bill that advanced out of the House Tuesday “picks up the ball” from the effort his father and other Northwest Indiana politicians made in the 1990s to bring the Bears to Gary.

During remarks on House floor in Indianapolis, Harris also noted Bears founder George “Papa Bear” Halas’ connection to Hammond: he started his pro football career with the Hammond Pros, before moving on to the Decatur Staleys.

“That team became the Chicago Bears. So if you look at this, it’s really about the Chicago Bears coming home,” Harris said.