A bill aimed at landing a Chicago Bears stadium project in Indiana advanced in that state’s legislature, but Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker remains upbeat about talks with the team.
The measure, which would provide the Bears with up to $1 billion in public financing for construction of a stadium at a site in Hammond, passed the House by an overwhelming 95-4 majority on Tuesday.
It is expected the measure, which was amended from an earlier version passed by the Senate, will pass that body again and be signed by Gov. Mike Braun by the end of the week.
“I feel very good about this. There is nothing that tells me that this isn’t going to happen,” Indiana State Rep. Earl Harris Jr. said. “We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t serious and if the Bears weren’t serious about moving to northwest Indiana.”
Still, Illinois lawmakers are not willing to give up hope on the team staying in the state. Lawmakers are expected to hold a committee hearing Thursday on a so-called PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) bill that would lock in property tax rates for the Bears in exchange for pre-approved payments, a key stepping stone in a deal to convince the team to build a new stadium on the site of the former Arlington International Racecourse in Arlington Heights.
While that measure is not expected to be voted on before the Indiana legislature completes its session this week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker is confident in how negotiations are proceeding with the Bears.
“There has been lots of conversation and agreement on everything really, as far as I can tell, with regard to a bill that provides this kind of what they call tax certainty,” he said.
Pritzker was also critical of the Indiana measure, which he says would raise taxes on the state’s residents.
“I’m very interested to see how the people of Indiana and the voters of Indiana feel about the massive increases in taxes that are being proposed, about paying for a stadium in Indiana for the Chicago Bears,” he said.
According to a nonpartisan evaluation of the Indiana measure, the bill would include a 1% food and beverage tax surcharge assessed in Lake and Porter counties, on top of the existing 7% tax on those items.
Lake County’s hotel tax would also double from 5% to 10%, while a 12% tax would be assessed on all tickets purchased to games at the new venue.
CapitolFax also reported Monday that a special taxing district would be set up in Hammond to capture sales, use and income taxes.
Pritzker said the negotiations will remain ongoing, and that he is doing everything he can to keep the team in the state without negatively impacting taxpayers.
“I believe the Bears should be based in Illinois, and I’m going to do everything I can without harming the taxpayers of Illinois in the process of trying to keep them in the state,” he said.