(CAPITOL CITY NOW) – The Chicago Bears are moving to Indiana — unless they aren’t.
That sums up what the team has said about its hopes for a new stadium and for public incentives. The situation has frustrated the Illinois General Assembly – whose two chambers failed to agree on a bill before adjourning last week – and Gov. JB Pritzker. He told reporters in Chicago Monday the Bears “have got to make sure they know what it is that they want and stick to the message. Apparently, there was some discussion with the city of Chicago after they told everyone they wanted to be in Arlington Heights. You can imagine for Chicago legislators and for everyone considering the bill, it’s confusing.”
Before lawmakers scattered for the summer, the football team issued a statement that it was only considering Arlington Heights and Hammond, Ind., as the site for its new stadium. The team owns the land on which the old Arlington Park race track used to stand. Once the legislature adjourned with no agreement for the Bears, the team said it would advance on Hammond.
Northwest Indiana represents a mecca of incentives Illinois refuses to provide, according to the governor. “In Indiana, they are going to have to raise sales taxes. They’re raising tolls. The question is, do people in Illinois want their sales taxes raised to pay for the Chicago Bears? Do they want tolls raised to pay for the Chicago Bears? I don’t think they do. We put a package together that would allow us to keep the Bears without having to do that.”
Pritzker, who said “meeting the needs of everyday folks” is a priority over helping the Bears build a stadium, said he is open to a special session if there is a deal to be made. Lawmakers return to Springfield in mid-November for fall veto session.
