Illinois lawmakers went home without a Bears stadium bill. Now it's Arlington Heights or Hammond, Indiana.
The spring session ended with no vote on the tax-certainty bill the Bears wanted. The team says a decision between Illinois and Indiana is coming on its late-spring timeline.
Illinois lawmakers adjourned their spring session without voting on a bill the Bears wanted to lock in property-tax certainty for a new stadium. The Senate passed a version 37-17 at 3:39 a.m. Monday, but the House went home without taking it up. The team says it will announce a decision soon.
What was the bill?
It would have let Cook County cities with more than 70,000 residents create sports stadium authorities. Under that structure, the Bears would fund the construction while the public retained ownership of the land, the arrangement the team wanted to secure property-tax certainty. The Senate passed it in the early hours of Monday morning, but the House adjourned the spring session without a vote, leaving it unresolved.
What are the Bears' options now?
Two sites. Arlington Heights, Illinois, a 326-acre former racecourse property the team already owns, or Hammond, Indiana. The Bears have committed $2 billion of their own money toward construction, but president Kevin Warren has been explicit about the condition: 'We would not be able to build a stadium without tax certainty.' He has noted that Indiana already provides that advantage, which is what makes Hammond a real threat rather than a bluff.
What's the timeline?
Tight. The Bears said they will 'finalize evaluation of both Arlington Heights and Hammond, and remain on the late spring/early summer timeline,' with a decision to follow. The legislative problem is that Illinois lawmakers won't reconvene until October's veto session unless Governor Pritzker calls a special session. That gap matters: the team's decision window may close before the legislature gets another chance to act, which puts pressure on Springfield rather than on the Bears.
How did it come to this?
Years of stalled stadium plans. The Bears have cycled through proposals, including a lakefront domed stadium in Chicago that the team has repeatedly said is no longer viable, before landing on Arlington Heights as the preferred site, contingent on tax terms. The failure of the spring bill is the latest in a long sequence, and it shifts the leverage: the team now has a concrete out-of-state alternative and a public deadline, while the Illinois legislature has a fall session and the risk of losing a franchise.
Sources
- ESPN: Lawmakers adjourn without passing bill to keep Bears in Chicago
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