All articles tagged with #hammond indiana
The Chicago Bears say there is no viable site in Chicago for a planned new stadium and are focusing on two suburban options—Arlington Heights, Illinois, and Hammond, Indiana—while Indiana creates a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority and Illinois offers tax incentives to attract the team, signaling a potential move away from the city after more than a century.
A statewide Amber Alert has been issued for 6-month-old Devaeyah Lucas-Bell in Hammond, Indiana, who is described as 22 inches tall, 16 pounds with black hair and brown eyes and was last seen in Hammond wearing a white shirt and brown pants. The suspect, Deandry Sabbs, 31, is 6 feet 2 inches tall, 208 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, and was last seen driving a gray four-door Nissan sedan with an unknown Illinois license plate. Anyone with information should contact the Hammond Police Department at 219-852-6357 or call 911.
With a $5 billion dome stadium on the table, the Chicago Bears are split between Arlington Heights, IL, and Hammond, IN, while Chicago’s future appears dim; Gov. JB Pritzker says he’d prefer the team stay in Illinois but criticizes Mayor Brandon Johnson for having no plan to keep them, and state funding concerns loom over taxpayers. The NFL is pressuring a decision, scheduling a special briefing at its Orlando meeting on progress, as infighting and uncertainty cloud the saga.
At the NFL owners meeting in Orlando, owners will receive a special briefing on the Bears’ two viable stadium options—Arlington Heights, Illinois, and Hammond, Indiana—with Indiana ready to move and Illinois negotiations ongoing; Bears leadership hopes to decide by early summer, and Indiana is seen as leverage for a favorable Illinois deal, potentially echoing cross-state stadium arrangements.
Indiana's bid to lure the Chicago Bears to build a stadium in Hammond hit a setback after the Illinois House advanced a Megaprojects Bill that would freeze property taxes and provide big tax breaks for major developments like a stadium in Arlington Heights, potentially making the Bears' Chicago-area plans more attractive and complicating Indiana's push.
George McCaskey is reportedly furious with Kevin Warren over the Bears' stadium saga, citing Warren’s absence from a crucial Illinois meeting and a shift toward building in Hammond, Indiana—while Arlington Heights remains in contention—highlighting leadership strains as the franchise pursues a high-stakes development.
Chicago native Shae Cornette told ESPN's First Take she isn't that mad about the Bears potentially moving from Soldier Field to northwest Indiana, arguing a new, more accessible stadium could improve the fan experience. With Indiana legislation proposing a stadium authority to fund a Hammond-area site and Chicago's Arlington Heights plan for public funding, Cornette notes the move would mirror other NFL teams playing outside their historic cities if it helps fans.
Indiana’s SB 27 for a Chicago Bears stadium in Hammond now allows project-labor agreements with unions by removing a prohibition, creates a stadium authority and a 35-year NFL lease, and funds the project through local taxes (including a 1% Porter County food-and-beverage tax) and bonds; the measure awaits further legislative action.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker says the Bears’ next stadium is unlikely to be built in Chicago, as Indiana moves to lure them to Hammond and Arlington Heights remains the Illinois option, intensifying cross-state competition as lawmakers weigh megaproject funding and Bears infrastructure needs.
Indiana lawmakers moved forward with a plan to bring the Chicago Bears’ stadium to Hammond by approving an amendment to Senate Bill 27 to create a Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority with bond and land-acquisition powers to finance the project near Wolf Lake, signaling momentum for a Hammond site as Bears officials voiced a vision and Illinois debated tax-incentive proposals for Arlington Heights.