It’s been nearly five years since George McCaskey’s Chicago Bears first moved to purchase the former Arlington International Racecourse with plans to build a new stadium. Yet the Illinois State House adjourned until mid-March without a full floor vote on the proposal. That pause created an opening. Indiana lawmakers stepped in and passed enabling legislation. And in doing so, Governor Mike Braun made one thing clear: the Bears approached Indiana, not the other way around.

“They came to us. We didn’t try to lure them,” Braun said of the Bears on The Pat McAfee Show at the NFL Scouting Combine. “They were being told bluntly (by Illinois), ‘You’ve got to build your own stadium. We’re not putting any taxpayer dollars into it.’ We never got ahead of our skis.”

For a broader context, Illinois lawmakers have been debating HB 910, a “megaprojects” bill that could support a stadium in Arlington Heights. The proposal would allow developments of $500 million or more to negotiate a long-term freeze on their property tax assessments, providing financial certainty.

The bill cleared the committee on a 13–7 party-line vote. But it has not yet reached or passed the full House. Chicago officials have formally opposed the legislation, and there are open questions about whether enough votes exist to move it to the Senate.

State Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), whose district includes Soldier Field and who introduced the bill, has emphasized that it is not written exclusively for the Bears but is designed to apply to large-scale developments statewide.

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“Instead of letting a megaproject blow up a tax base in unpredictable ways, or letting negotiations happen in the shadows, this bill creates a clean structure,” Buckner said.

If enacted, any property tax agreement tied to a Bears stadium would require negotiations with local taxing bodies, including the Village of Arlington Heights, Cook County, and area school districts. The proposal also includes exemptions from state and local taxes on construction materials.

Notably, it does not provide direct state funding for infrastructure such as roads, utilities, or sewers, something the Bears have indicated they would need. Opposition centers on long-term tax impact. Critics argue that allowing major developers to lock in lower property tax assessments for decades could shift financial pressure onto homeowners and small businesses.

“It would shift liability from megaproject developers directly onto homeowners, small businesses, creating a mechanism that could double or triple the effective property tax rates over the next few decades,” said Brian Costin, deputy state director of the Illinois chapter of Americans for Prosperity, a Libertarian policy advocacy group.

At the same time, Chicago city leaders have pushed back. They argued that the city deserves an equal opportunity to present its own proposal to keep the Bears at or near Soldier Field.

All things considered, the broader dynamic is now clear. Illinois is still debating structure and votes, while Indiana has already signed legislation creating a stadium authority and financing pathway. The Bears have not made a final decision. But Illinois has pumped the brakes on the Bears’ stadium plans for now until further updates in March. As for Indiana, the state has positioned itself as ready. And that timing could matter.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun signs the Bears’ stadium framework bill

With Illinois lawmakers adjourned, Mike Braun signed Senate Bill 27 into law. The bill will create a formal legal framework for a potential stadium in Hammond, Indiana, just across the state line from Chicago. Speaking on ESPN, Braun made it clear that Indiana views itself as a serious contender. He said:

“I think they are really now getting a good look at what it’s like doing business in a place like Indiana, and it’s going to be a lot easier to run a business over the next 40 or 50 years than it would be there.”

The legislation creates the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority, granting it the power to acquire land, issue bonds, and structure financing if the Bears move forward with that option. In practical terms, it gives Indiana an organized vehicle to execute a stadium deal.

Strategically, the goal is simple: present Indiana as a stable, business-friendly alternative to Soldier Field. The law allows revenue generated from ticket taxes, hotel taxes, and food and beverage taxes connected to stadium operations to be used to repay construction and infrastructure bonds.

“It gives the city of Hammond the authority to enact a 12% ticket tax. It requires proceeds from a renegotiated toll road agreement on the Indiana toll road be spent in the seven toll road counties,” said state Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka.

Lawmakers estimate it could take approximately 35 years to retire those bonds using the designated revenue streams. Meanwhile, the Bears have signaled a willingness to invest roughly $2 billion of their own capital into a new stadium. With uncertainty still surrounding whether the franchise ultimately chooses Hammond or Arlington Heights, one thing is evident: the competition for the Bears’ future home is far from settled.