The Bears appear to be playing Indiana and Illinois against each other as they attempt to get state taxpayers’ help in building a new stadium. And today the Bears appear to be heading toward Indiana.
After the team and the governor of Indiana both put out statements saying they’re making progress on an agreement to build a stadium, the Illinois governor’s office put out a statement saying that was news to Illinois.
Matt Hill, a spokesman for Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, wrote on social media that as recently as yesterday, the Bears were representing to Illinois that things were heading in the right direction to pass a bill in the Illinois General Assembly that would keep the team in the state.
“Illinois was ready to move this bill forward,” Hill wrote. “After a productive three hour meeting yesterday, the Bears leaders requested the ILGA pause the hearing to make further tweaks to the bill. This morning, we were surprised to see a statement lauding Indiana and ignoring Illinois.”
The Bears have attempted to get taxpayer support to remain in Illinois, either with a new stadium at the same site as Soldier Field, or in the suburb of Arlington Heights, Illinois, about 30 miles away. The proposed stadium site in Hammond, Indiana, is about 20 miles away.
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