Next 2 weeks could sway chances of Chicago Bears picking Indiana stadium site

[RandySF]

The next couple of weeks appear crucial to whether the Chicago Bears decide the franchise will cross the state line and build its new stadium in northwest Indiana.

The Illinois Legislature is set to wrap up its session at the end of this month and keeps haggling over a bill intended to persuade the Bears to pick a site the team already owns in the northwestern Chicago suburb of Arlington Heights.

Those talks continue nearly three months after Indiana lawmakers pushed through — and Gov. Mike Braun signed — a financing plan for a Hammond stadium location that would direct about $1 billion in taxpayer money toward stadium district infrastructure.

The Illinois Senate is now considering a bill approved by House members last month that would allow developers of so-called “megaprojects” to negotiate their property tax bills under a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with local governments.




https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/19/next-2-weeks-could-sway-chances-of-chicago-bears-picking-indiana-stadium-site/

[RockRaven]

1. The Hammond site is, quelle surprise, a giant slag heap surrounded by hazardous waste.

Well, that framing comes from the Arlington Heights mayor, but the facts bear it out (pun intended).

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/05/19/chicago-bears-stadium-slag-heap-hammond/?share=2sbssrs5h9aarioigble

[rurallib]

2. sounds like a great place to pick up a cancer or two