Illinois Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey said Tuesday that Indiana Gov. Mike Braun assured him the Chicago Bears are moving to Indiana.
Bailey made the claim during his debate with Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker at WTTW studios in Chicago, the only scheduled debate of the race. The moderators asked both candidates how far they would go to keep the team in Illinois.
“I’m just glad I’m not going to be known as the governor that lost the Bears,” Bailey said. “Because the Bears are going to Indiana.”
Pritzker cut in, telling Bailey it sounded like he was wishing for it.
“Braun’s assured me of that,” Bailey replied.
A spokesperson for Braun did not say whether the governor had spoken with Bailey or assured him the team was moving.
“Gov. Braun has been clear from the beginning that Indiana is open for business, and the Chicago Bears have taken notice,” Braun spokesperson Griffin Reid said in a statement. “Illinois has had years to make a deal with the team and has fallen short every step of the way. Indiana moves at the speed of business.”
The governor’s office said due diligence on the project continues.
Bailey also criticized Pritzker and Illinois legislative leaders over their handling of the team’s stadium search. He said that when Bears ownership sought meetings, Pritzker was in Wisconsin, Florida, “anywhere but Illinois.” He said the owners then went to Illinois General Assembly leaders and that “nobody was there.”
Bailey said Illinois taxpayers need relief on utility bills, property taxes and the gasoline tax. He pointed to gas prices across the state line in Indiana, which he said are $1.20 a gallon cheaper. Asked what he would do about the Bears, Bailey said he had released a plan he described as “a starting point.” It relies on payments in lieu of taxes, a concept Pritzker has also supported. Bailey compared the approach to negotiating the price of a car.
Pritzker said he expects Illinois lawmakers to reach a deal during the fall veto session, which begins in November.
“I believe that in November, we’re going to be able to get something done to keep the Bears in the state of Illinois. But I’m not going to do it at the expense of the taxpayers,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker has said he opposes public money for direct stadium construction but supports state help with infrastructure costs. During the debate he said a billionaire family that owns a team valued at $9 billion does not need taxpayers to build it a stadium. Pritzker met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell the week before the debate.
Bailey said Pritzker is waiting until after the Nov. 3 election to acknowledge that the team is leaving.
The Bears’ board of directors voted June 5 to advance a stadium development project in Hammond. The vote came days after the Illinois House adjourned May 31 without acting on legislation that would have given the team the tax certainty it wanted for a stadium on its Arlington Heights property.
Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren later said the team’s “sole focus” was a stadium and mixed-use development in Hammond. Warren said the team had completed due diligence on the Lost Marsh site near Wolf Lake and found it viable for the project.
Indiana lawmakers passed Senate Bill 27 earlier this year. It created the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to finance a publicly owned stadium. The plan calls for more than $1 billion in public money, backed by bonds supported by local tax increases in Lake and Porter counties. Some local officials in the region have expressed hesitation about those increases.
The Bears have played at Soldier Field since 1971. Their lease on the city-owned stadium runs through 2033.
