A day after Indiana lawmakers took a major step to lure the Chicago Bears to Hammond, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker turned up the pressure on team, calling on ownership to make clear if they're still interested in staying in Illinois and stop sending mixed signals.
On Thursday, the Indiana House Ways and Means Committee unanimously approved legislation to establish a state sports authority to fund a new domed stadium for the Bears in Hammond.
The Bears praised that vote as "the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date," without making a firm commitment to move to Indiana, and Pritzker has said he was disappointed the Bears would put that statement out but not say anything about the advancement that's been made in the state of Illinois."
At an unrelated news conference on Friday, Pritzker said it's time for the Bears to be transparent about their demands for a stadium deal so Illinois lawmakers and taxpayers know exactly where things stand.
"The Bears really do need to step up and be public about what it is that they really want," Pritzker said. "I think the Bears need to make their intentions known. Those intentions could be that they want to continue to talk to both states, but I think they need to clarify that."
The governor said his team and the Bears made progress toward a deal for the Bears to build a stadium in Arlington Heights during a three-hour meeting on Wednesday, in which they mostly agreed on legislation that could move forward in the Illinois General Assembly.
But Pritzker said the Bears asked to cancel a hearing that had been set for that legislation on Thursday to tweak language in the proposal.
The Bears have said they are committing $2 billion towards construction of the stadium, but have asked for $855 million in public funds for necessary supporting infrastructure – such as new roads, upgraded utilities, and more – along with legislation allowing them to negotiate their property tax bill with local governments.
Pritzker has reiterated he's only committing to a deal that works for taxpayers.
If the Bears do decide to move to Indiana, would Pritzker view that as a negotiating failure on the part of the state of Illinois?
"I view that as there is a limit to what taxpayers of Illinois are willing to spend on a stadium or on infrastructure and everything else," he said. "It's a choice by the Bears about whether or not they want to be in the state of Illinois. I think we've had really productive conversations, which again is why I was dismayed by the fact that they didn't even tell us they were putting … I get that they want to keep hope alive as they say."
The hearing on the property tax legislation the Bears were seeking was canceled at the 11th hour in Springfield this week, but has now been rescheduled for next Thursday.
The governor said he hopes for progress on talks by then.
The video above is from a previous report.
In:
Chicago Bears
JB Pritzker