Bears President & CEO Kevin Warren said that he is expecting to have a stadium solution in place for the team “by late spring or early summer of this year,” according to Myles Simmons of PROFOOTBALLTALK. The Bears are currently focused on Arlington Heights, Ill., and Hammond, Ind., as “potential stadium sites.” Warren said, “We are going through legitimate due diligence because we have working through traffic, and construction items, and transportation and all those kinds of different things. It’s progressing right on pace.” He continued that the goal for the Bears is to “build a world-class environment with a fixed roof that our fans can really enjoy to make sure we have the proper ingress and egress and tailgating, and parking, and all those different accoutrements that great stadiums have.” The enclosed stadium will “allow the Bears to host more events, like the Final Four and potentially a Super Bowl.” Warren also called it “imperative” for the new venue to have a mixed-use development surrounding the stadium. That means the Bears “need the space for it.” Warren anticipates having the situation “settled in the next few months.” Warren: “It has to” (PROFOOTBALLTALK, 3/30).

MEETING ROOM: In Chicago, Christopher Placek reported the Illinois General Assembly went on recess Friday as “closed-door stadium negotiations continue” with top legislative leaders, Bears brass, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Arlington Heights officials. Legislation that would give the Bears a tax break at its 326-acre property in Arlington Heights “still doesn’t have the requisite 60-vote minimum in the House” due to “concerns with taxpayer impact and making Chicago whole from the 2003 Soldier Field renovation debt.” The House is back in session April 7 and the Senate returns April 14. Both chambers adjourn the current spring session May 31 (Chicago DAILY HERALD, 3/30).

ROADBLOCK: In Indianapolis, Jacob Stewart notes as members of Congress are introducing legislation that would create guidelines for teams trying to relocate, they are “mischaracterizing the Bears’ intent as a plot to burden Indiana taxpayers, exploit Illinois and abandon fans.” Stewart: “In reality, it keeps fans closer and will boost the interconnected economy of Chicago and Northwest Indiana.” The Hammond site would “place the Bears closer to their current stadium and downtown Chicago than the Arlington Heights site.” Hammond and Northwest Indiana are “likely also home to tens of thousands of Bears fans.” Stewart: “Hammond is a far better location for a Bears stadium than Arlington Heights. That’s why Illinois politicians and their friends in Congress are trying to rig the game to keep the Bears in Illinois regardless of how horribly the state treats the team and its fans” (INDIANAPOLIS STAR, 3/31).