Bears vote to advance stadium-development plan in Indiana, taking another step toward leaving Chicago

The Chicago Bears are putting pressure on the state of Illinois after lawmakers failed to pass a stadium-funding bill Monday. With the Illinois House now on adjournment, the Bears took another step toward signaling they are serious about moving to Indiana, announcing their board of directors voted to “advance our stadium development project in Hammond, Indiana,” the team announced Friday.

In a statement, team chairman George McCasky and president and CEO Kevin Warren said they believe a new stadium in Indiana will “bring Chicagoland together and deliver new opportunities to its residents and businesses.”

The Bears have yet to settle on an exact site for their stadium in Indiana, but will continue to explore their options after the Indiana project was approved Thursday.

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The vote — and team statement — does not definitively mean the Bears are leaving Chicago or Illinois, but it signals the team is ready to ratchet up the threat of that possibility.

That was apparent in anonymous quotes shared by sources in the wake of the team’s statement. One source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter, “There is more work to do but barring anything very strange, it’s a done deal.” Another told ESPN’s Courtney Cronin that this isn’t a leverage play, but that “Illinois can still get back in the race.”

Both quotes try and make it seem as though the threat of the team leaving Illinois is legitimate while also leaving open the possibility that Illinois can still salvage the situation.

While staying in Chicago has looked less and less like a real option, the team could stay in Illinois by building its next stadium in Arlington Heights — a northwest suburb of Chicago. The Bears purchased Arlington International Racecourse — which was located in Arlington Heights — in 2021, and have signaled the desire to use the site to build a new stadium.

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In order for the Bears to stay in Illinois, however, the team is seeking property tax certainties from the state. In May, Illinois made a last-ditch attempt at granting the team those tax certainties. The Illinois Senate passed a bill that would have given the Bears what they were seeking. But that approval came just hours before the Illinois House was set to adjourn. The House was unable to take up the issue before adjourning.

This story will be updated.