Chicago Bears and NFL Reopen Talks With Illinois Leaders to Keep the Franchise From Moving to Indiana

Efforts are under way to keep the Chicago Bears, one of the National Football League's most storied franchises, in Illinois. Earlier this week, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and other league officials accompanied club officials, including owner George McCaskey and Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren, to a meeting with Illinois legislative leaders in Chicago.

At the meeting, the group agreed to continue working to lay a path for authoring legislation that could result in the Bears agreeing to build their new stadium in Arlington Heights, Illinois, or perhaps even in Chicago.

Only months ago, the picture was the opposite. In August, the Bears announced that their 'sole focus' for the stadium project was in the neighbouring state of Indiana. Illinois lawmakers had failed to offer the tax relief and infrastructure certainty the club sought, which pushed the franchise toward Hammond, Indiana.

In a statement on Friday, the Bears said: 'The Chicago Bears remain committed to building a world-class stadium and mixed-use district for our fans, the Chicagoland community and the team. We continue to work collaboratively with local and state leaders in Indiana to advance our stadium development plans in Hammond, where we are finalizing due diligence details across two sites in the Wolf Lake area.'

In the same statement, the club welcomed the renewed Illinois engagement: 'At the same time, we appreciate the recent engagement from Illinois leadership to explore legislation which allows us to share our feedback. We expect productive dialogue with both leadership teams in the coming weeks.'

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said this week that legislation meant to keep the Bears in Illinois is coming. 'We've been working with the Chicago Bears, and we've been working with the city of Arlington Heights, as well as the folks in the city of Chicago, on where the Bears might want to build a stadium, and what that legislation will look like,' he said.

Pritzker said the legislation could be taken up in the veto session in mid-November and early December. 'What I can do is make sure that there is a piece of legislation that would work for the Bears. And then it's up to the Bears where they want to put their stadium, and we want to make sure that the opportunity for them is in the state of Illinois,' he said.

Earlier, on June 5, 2026, the Bears' board voted to 'advance' the Indiana project, saying it would transform the region. In August, Kevin Warren declared: 'Our sole focus at this point in time is working on a world-class stadium and mixed-use development in Hammond, Indiana,' while also calling Indiana's proposal an 'excellent deal' and saying the team was working 'to bring that to life.'

The prospect of losing a legacy NFL franchise that is more than 100 years old to another state appears to have finally moved Illinois legislators. Even so, the club's public stance remains that Hammond is the site where due diligence is being finalized and very much remains a possibility.

The Bears say they have a responsibility and obligation to explore every option available to the club, and that they look forward to developing a transformational project that will attract global events and deliver jobs and economic growth to all of Chicagoland.