Back in the day, I grew up partly in Chicago, and as a wee lad, I saw my first football game at Soldier Field with my late father. Years later, we went to the ’85 Super Bowl in New Orleans to watch Da Bears crush the New England Patriots, and then in January, my son and I watched the Monsters pull off a miraculous comeback against the hated Green Bay Packers. (They almost did it again in the same playoffs against the LA Rams, but Caleb Williams’ all-timer of a longbomb TD just wasn’t quite enough to get ‘er done.)
In all those years – in fact, for more than the last one hundred years – the Bears have been synonymous with one thing: Chicago. Sadly, that could soon change:
Despite recent work in Springfield [the capital of Illinois], the Chicago Bears appear to be poised to leave the state.
Indiana lawmakers announced Feb. 19 that they have struck a deal to potentially locate the football team's new stadium Hammond, Indiana, pending the passage of the bill, according to a report from the IndyStar.
The Chicago Bears released a statement on Feb. 19 further supporting their possible move to northwest Indiana.
"The passage of SB 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date," the Bears wrote in a statement, speaking about Indiana legislation. "We are committed to finishing the remaining site-specific necessary due diligence to support our vision to build a world-class stadium near the Wolf Lake area in Hammond, Indiana."
It just seems to flout the nature of the universe:
@ChicagoBears unveiled their new logo as the team inches closer to moving to Indiana.#chicagobears #indianabears#nfl pic.twitter.com/OqIpyl2YTr
— B-THURSTEE!!!😈🇨🇦 (@BThurstee) February 20, 2026
That is clearly parody, but the thought still stings.
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The news came as a surprise to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, who had been negotiating with the team and thought they were making progress toward a deal. Here’s a Pritzker spokesman, Matt Hill:
Illinois was ready to move this bill forward.
— Matt Hill (@thematthill) February 19, 2026
After a productive three hour meeting yesterday, the Bears leaders requested the ILGA pause the hearing to make further tweaks to the bill.
This morning, we were surprised to see a statement lauding Indiana and ignoring Illinois. https://t.co/T9BEhDTtFq
The argument is one we’ve seen in many cities: namely, when building a stadium, who pays for what, what tax breaks are doled out, and what concessions will be made by each side to get it done. It’s not necessarily a left-right issue; some people from all political bents believe that taxpayers shouldn’t be helping rich sports leagues, others argue that the economic stimulus a stadium provides to the area more than pays for itself.
In this case, the Bears want more concessions, but the Illinois government under JB Pritzker wants to save Illinois’ taxpayer dollars to pay for illegal alien healthcare and woke social programs.
Although it's complicated, one thing is crystal clear: The Bears would not be Da Bears in freakin’ Indiana (no offense, Indiana folks), and Chicago would be left without one of its crown jewels. That would be the team’s — and the city's —worst-ever defeat.
Imagine being the governor who lost the Bears, a century-old cornerstone of Chicago.
— Darren Bailey (@DarrenBaileyIL) February 19, 2026
This is the ultimate indictment of JB’s policies: a state made so expensive and so mismanaged it can’t even keep its most iconic institution. pic.twitter.com/5W6sUL6Hya
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