After the Illinois spring legislative session ended on June 1st, the Chicago Bears announced their intent to focus on building their new stadium in Hammond, Indiana. It was felt they had little choice. Illinois government officials said there were no plans to call a special session in the summer to address the issue, meaning it would have to wait until at least November. The McCaskeys and team president Kevin Warren weren’t willing to wait that long when the path to a deal seemed clearer across the border.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, word surfaced that the state and franchise had re-engaged talks, with the Bears seeking assistance in putting together a bill strong enough to convince Governor J.B. Pritzker to call that special session. For some, this latest pivot was confusing. Wasn’t Indiana supposed to be the easier path? They’d already passed the necessary legislation. All the Bears had to do was settle on a site. Well, as it turns out, things are never that easy. Christopher Placek of the Daily Herald provided details.
Indiana made a major mistake in their pursuit of the Chicago Bears.
Republican Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston penned an Op-Ed in Tuesday’s Chicago Tribune that attributed the Bears’ interest in moving across state lines to the Hoosier state’s business climate. But some officials in Northwest Indiana in recent days have expressed opposition to increased local taxes intended to help pay the bonds on a new public stadium.
“What the Indiana legislature chose to do is to foist it all off on the counties and the cities around (the potential) stadium,” Illinois’ Democratic governor said Tuesday. “And so, guess what? They don’t have a tax that’s passed to help pay for it there. They don’t yet have the tolls that would be required to pay for it there. We don’t want to raise taxes on the people of Illinois.
“ … And so we think we’re actually as close as anybody to getting a stadium done here,” he declared. “I don’t think Indiana is a whole heck of a lot closer than we are.”
Rushing the process may have cost them.
Indiana Governor Mike Braun celebrated his state’s ability to get legislation on infrastructure and property taxes passed so quickly in the past couple of years. This was what initially intrigued the Bears. Unfortunately, doing things at such a rapid pace can often have unforeseen consequences. In this case, Indiana has run into two big ones. The first was that both prominent building sites in Hammond are entangled in environmental protection laws. In other words, it would require a long and costly legal battle from the Bears to overturn, if they even can.
Now it’s become apparent that the state passed those bills without consulting the local counties and townships that would be impacted by the stadium project. There was no plan to address the issues with taxpayers, who are understandably upset about being tossed into this situation without even being warned. Hence why opposition is building. This will only make efforts to pass any taxes to fund the project even more difficult. The Chicago Bears, likely sensing the stacking list of problems, thus chose to work with Illinois.
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Illinois may have the advantage now.
Let’s not forget the state was agonizingly close to a breakthrough in May. It had passed a revised bill through the Senate. All they needed was the House to review it and make some final adjustments. Sadly, time ran out. Even so, the message was clear. Had the legislation made it past the House, Pritzker almost certainly would’ve signed it, and the Bears would be building in Arlington Heights right now. That is how close it was. Given the new details from Indiana, it feels like there is a new leader in the race.
Indiana has two problems that are not easily solved. Even if they somehow get local taxpayers on board in a timely fashion, which is almost impossible, it doesn’t erase the environmental issues in Hammond. There is no way both can be dealt with by the end of this year. Meanwhile, if the Bears can put together a strong enough bill proposal, they could cross the finish line before the end of summer. It is becoming easier to see why Pritzker feels so confident.
