Chicago Bears Crosses the Goal Line: Illinois Legislature Adjourns Without Stadium Bill, Leaving Decision to Summer

The Illinois House adjourned early Monday morning without voting on a last-minute stadium bill. The Chicago Bears will now make their final decision between Arlington Heights and Hammond, Indiana, on their own timeline.

The legislative session ended shortly after 4:30 a.m. Monday. The Senate had passed a new stadium financing bill just hours earlier, voting 37-17 in a desperate late-night effort to keep the team in Illinois. But the House never took up the measure.

House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch ruled out calling a special session to revisit the issue before lawmakers return in the fall.

"There’s a lot of work still ahead of us," Welch said. "We’ll continue discussions on a number of issues, including our approach to the Bears stadium question this summer."

The Bill That Never Got a Vote

State Sen. Bill Cunningham, D-Chicago, filed the late-night proposal after an earlier megaprojects tax-incentive bill collapsed. The new measure would have allowed Cook County municipalities with populations of at least 70,000 to create stadium financing authorities.

Under the plan, the Bears would privately finance stadium construction. The municipality would own the land and the facility. That public ownership structure would eliminate property taxes on the stadium itself.

Cunningham said the model mirrors what Indiana offered the Bears, but without taxpayer dollars funding construction.

"This would give the Bears what they want," Cunningham said. "They have said that they can build and will build their own stadium with private finances. They can do that."

The Bears were notified of the proposal. But Cunningham said the team had not indicated whether it supported the bill.

Why the House Sat It Out

Several House lawmakers said the bill arrived too late to review properly. The measure was sent from the Senate after 3 a.m. Monday, well past the midnight adjournment deadline.

State Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, a Chicago Democrat, said many lawmakers had been awake for 20 hours during the budget marathon.

"The bill came over from the Senate after many of us had been up for 20 hours and it is not enough time to vet a really important bill," LaPointe said.

What the Bears Said

The team released a statement Monday morning confirming it remains on schedule for a summer decision.

"We will finalize our evaluation of both Arlington Heights and Hammond, and remain on the late spring/early summer timeline that we have previously communicated," the Bears said. "We will provide an update when we have a decision to share."

The Bears announced in May 2025 that Arlington Heights and Hammond, Indiana were the only two sites under consideration. The team purchased 326 acres in Arlington Heights for $197 million in 2023.

Indiana’s Offer on the Table

Indiana lawmakers authorized a stadium financing authority in February. The proposal includes up to $1 billion in taxpayer-backed incentives for a stadium near Wolf Lake in Hammond.

The Hammond site sits near the Skyway, just across the border from Chicago’s Southeast Side. Critics have raised concerns about the location’s proximity to a Superfund site and the cost of environmental remediation.

Reactions from Mayors

Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tinaglia called the legislative outcome a "fumble" for the state.

"We are truly disappointed with the outcome from the spring legislative session yet again," Tinaglia said. "This is clearly a fumble for the State of Illinois."

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson had pushed against the earlier PILOT tax-break bill. His top adviser, Jason Lee, lobbied in Springfield against the megaprojects legislation. Lee said city lawyers were still reviewing the Senate’s late-night proposal.

Pritzker’s Stance

Gov. JB Pritzker acknowledged he could be the governor who loses the Bears to Indiana. But he said he would not subsidize a franchise valued at $8.9 billion with billions in taxpayer money.

"The reality is that I wasn’t willing to give up billions of dollars of taxpayer money in order to give it to a billionaire-owned family, or team," Pritzker said. "The No. 1 principle is we’re not going to foist this on the taxpayers of the state of Illinois."

Pritzker said his office was involved in developing the Cunningham bill and that conversations could continue over the summer.

The Clock Is Ticking

The Bears’ lease at Soldier Field runs through 2033. The team can pay a fee to break the lease early.

Senate President Don Harmon said there was enormous internal pressure against providing public dollars to the franchise.

"All of us in our neighborhoods and communities heard basically the same thing: Do whatever you need to do to keep the Bears here, but not one nickel," Harmon said.

The Bears have played in Illinois since their founding in 1920. They have never owned their stadium. The next move could determine whether they stay in the state at all.

The team said it will provide an update when it has a decision to share.