Two liberal members of Congress may throw a wrench in the Chicago Bears’ idea of moving to northwest Indiana, to which Republican Gov. Mike Braun says: Political hogwash!
“Indiana is open for business, while states like Illinois, New York, and California are collapsing under failed Democrat policies. Now they want to trap businesses and families in those failing systems,” he told IndyStar in a statement reacting to new legislation proposed by Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic Rep. Greg Casar. “Hoosiers won’t tolerate government control over who can buy or sell a business or where Americans choose to build a better life. I ran for Governor because nothing gets done in D.C., and largely due to wasting time on crazy ideas like this!”
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The proposed federal bill, called the “Home Team Act,” would require a professional sports team owner to give a one-year notice before moving their team to a new state or metropolitan area. During that one-year period, any other interested parties within the community, like a private person or a nonprofit or a community ownership group, would have the chance to buy the team at a “fair and reasonable price” determined by independent appraisers.
In other words, the team can’t leave home without first being offered up for sale.
The Bears’ threatening to leave Illinois, prompting an arms race between the two states to offer the team handsome financial packages backed by taxpayer dollars, was mentioned by the congressmen as a prime example prompting their bill.
In a statement, Casar punched back at Braun’s talk of “crazy ideas.”
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“What’s crazy is a team worth $8 billion pitting Hoosier taxpayers against Illinois taxpayers in a race to the bottom for subsidies,” he said. “This bill would protect Indiana sports fans and Illinois sports fans alike with a simple idea: before you move a team away from a community that has loved it for generations, you have to offer locals the chance to buy it at a fair price.”
They cite other grievances, like the Brooklyn Dodgers leaving for LA in the 1950s to the Oakland Athletics leaving for Las Vegas more recently. But the Chicago Bears intrigue is the talk of the town lately.
More: The Colts transformed Indy. Would the Bears do the same for northwest Indiana?
This all started in December, when the team owner cited displeasure with the pace of negotiations over a new stadium site in Arlington Heights and expressed interest in looking elsewhere, like northwest Indiana.
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Indiana lawmakers jumped at the opportunity, whipping up legislation and breathlessly sailing it through their process. Braun signed a bill into law in February creating a northwest Indiana stadium authority that would be in charge of financing a new stadium for the Bears in Hammond, backed by a combination of local food and beverage taxes and tax-increment-financing in the stadium area.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
A bridge is seen out side of the purposed site for the new Bears stadium on Monday, March 9, 2026, in Hammond.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
A bridge is seen out side of the purposed site for the new Bears stadium on Monday, March 9, 2026, in Hammond.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
The possible site for the new Bear stadium on Monday, March 9, 2026, at Lost Marsh Golf Course in Hammond.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
Rep. Earl Harris is interviewed on Monday, March 9, 2026, at GOAT CÀ PHÊ on Main Street in East Chicago.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
Phil Taillon, a Hammond resident and president of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority, poses for a portrait near the possible site for the new Bear stadium on Monday, March 9, 2026, at Lost Marsh Golf Course in Hammond.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
Inside the Sportsmen’s Corner bar on Monday, March 9, 2026, outside of Hammond in Whiting.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
The possible site for the new Bear stadium on Monday, March 9, 2026, at Lost Marsh Golf Course in Hammond.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
Phil Taillon, a Hammond resident and president of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority, poses for a portrait near the possible site for the new Bear stadium on Monday, March 9, 2026, at Lost Marsh Golf Course in Hammond.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
The possible site for the new Bear stadium on Monday, March 9, 2026, at Lost Marsh Golf Course in Hammond.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
Inside the Sportsmen’s Corner bar on Monday, March 9, 2026, outside of Hammond in Whiting.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
Inside the Sportsmen’s Corner bar on Monday, March 9, 2026, outside of Hammond in Whiting.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
Inside the Sportsmen’s Corner bar on Monday, March 9, 2026, outside of Hammond in Whiting.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
Inside the Sportsmen’s Corner bar on Monday, March 9, 2026, outside of Hammond in Whiting.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
Jason Nykawski, Whiting resident, poses for a portrait Monday, March 9, 2026, outside of Hammond in Whiting.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
A bridge is seen out side of the purposed site for the new Bears stadium on Monday, March 9, 2026, in Hammond.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
Rep. Earl Harris is interviewed on Monday, March 9, 2026, at GOAT CÀ PHÊ on Main Street in East Chicago.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
Rep. Earl Harris poses for a portrait on Monday, March 9, 2026, at GOAT CÀ PHÊ on Main Street in East Chicago.
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See photos from Hammond, the possible new home for the Chicago Bears
Rep. Earl Harris poses for a portrait on Monday, March 9, 2026, at GOAT CÀ PHÊ on Main Street in East Chicago.
Illinois lawmakers are still parsing through the deal they want to offer the Bears to keep them in-state. Their legislative session ends in May.
Even before Indiana’s bill became law, the Bears verbally “committed” to moving to Hammond, pledging to invest $2 billion. But nothing’s been signed, and lots of skeptics see the Bears using Indiana as a mere pawn in negotiations with Illinois.
This is the kind of hand-wringing Sanders and Casar say they want to prevent.
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“The American people are sick and tired of billionaires threatening to move the sports teams they own to different states unless they get hundreds of millions in corporate welfare to build new stadiums,” Sanders said in a news release.
Such a bill would be a ways off from becoming law, especially under the veto power of President Donald Trump.
Contact IndyStar Statehouse reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on X@kayla_dwyer17.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Gov. Mike Braun blasts ‘crazy’ bill that could block Bears’ Indiana move