Illinois legislators worked until the final hours of their session to get a deal done to keep the Bears football team from leaving the state.
But the chamber did not get a bill across the finish line, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Illinois Senate put together a last-minute bill, but the House adjourned without a vote. The legislation would have allowed municipalities in Cook County to set up stadium financing authorities.
The legislature could be called in for a special session or try to address it again during the fall session.
“I think the sense that the Illinois government did not come up with a specific plan to keep the Bears here is kind of the news for the moment,” said Brian Gaines, the Arrlington Professor of State Politics for the University of Illinois.
In a statement, the Bears team said they were in the final stages of evaluating either Arlington Heights or Hammond, Indiana as the final location for a new stadium.
The team said they “remain on the late spring/early summer timeline that we have previously communicated. We will provide an update when we have a decision to share.”
But Gaines said that the Bears' deadline is arbitrary, and he believes there’s still time for another Hail Mary attempt to keep them.
“The Bears' deadline is somewhat artificial. They're trying to get the best deal, and they can invent their own deadlines,” Gaines said. “One of the reasons why I'd say this is not the end of the story.”
Legislation passed by Indiana lawmakers earlier this year set up a stadium authority funding structure worth $1-billion to incentivize the Bears to move. Indiana lawmakers have been hopeful the package will be enough to attract the Bears to Indiana.
Gaines said among Democrats in Illinois, there are some questions about whether large taxpayer-supported subsidies for millionaires are the best use of state funds.
“It's a massively regressive policy thing to be throwing public money at the wealthiest people in society, and economists have long arguments about what the benefits are of having a pro team,” he said. “Mostly, I think the economic benefits never turn out to be enough to justify subsidies of the kind we tend to see for stadiums.”
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott declined to comment for this story.
Contact Government Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org
