By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The Chicago Bears are one step closer to leaving Illinois after an Indiana House committee approved stadium legislation.

Indiana Senate Bill 27 cleared the Indiana House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday.

The Bears said passage of the bill would be the most significant step forward in their stadium planning efforts to date.

In a statement released Thursday morning, the Bears said they were committed to the remaining due diligence to support their stadium vision near Wolf Lake in Hammond, just across the state line from Chicago.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he was disappointed after his team met with the Bears on Wednesday.

“We completed more than three hours, my team did, of discussions with the Bears, very positive discussions and, indeed, mostly agreed on a bill,” Pritzker said.

The governor said the legislation would have moved Thursday morning, but the Bears asked that it be held so some tweaks could be worked out.

“Again I’m surprised, dismayed, very disappointed at what I saw in a statement. The Bears, post that, have said, ‘Well, we didn’t really mean that they’re moving to Indiana,’ which is kind of the implication of it,” Pritzker said.

The governor reiterated that he wants to protect the taxpayers of Illinois.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun said his state moves at the speed of business.

“We’ve demonstrated that through our quick coordination between state agencies, local government, and the legislature to set the stage for a huge win for all Hoosiers,” Braun said in a statement.

Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, said Senate Bill 27 would be a transformational investment.

“The new stadium will be a catalyst for growth across the entire Northwest Indiana corridor, bringing jobs, new tax revenue and new businesses,” Huston told the Indiana House committee before his bill advanced.

The Indiana House speaker said both the Bears and the state would be making significant investments.

Huston said the state has asked Lake and Porter counties to adopt a 1-percent food and beverage tax, just as communities around Indianapolis were asked to impose for sports facilities. Huston said the state is also asking Lake County to impose a 5-percent innkeeper’s tax.

The speaker said bond issuance to help build the proposed stadium would be repaid by admission fees at the facility, just as Indiana did with Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

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