The defeat of a movement to get a Bears stadium funding structure in place for Arlington Heights met with plenty of despair in the Chicago area.Of course, on the other hand there is jubilation from the opposing side, just as in 1984 when Indianapolis stole the Baltimore Colts. The state of Indiana, known for basketball, is rapidly becoming a football state with a national collegiate title and now possibly a second NFL team. In particular, Hammond views the Illinois legislative defeat as a sure sign their state will be getting a second NFL team while Illinois will have none. Illinois will be like Missouri, which once had two NFL teams and will have none when the new Chiefs stadium in Kansas is completed in 2031. It will be like New York City, which had the Jets and Giants and now has neither.Remember, Chicago had the Bears and the Cardinals at one time. Now it will have nothing except a team in another state with the name Chicago attached.Indiana is getting to off load a toxic waste dump on the McCaskey family.— rocker76 (@imarealist99) June 2, 2026A summertime political miracle? The Bears waiting until November to get legislation through for Arlington Heights or even Chicago? It's not happening says Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. of Hammond."I think Illinois is out of the picture," McDermott said to the Indiana Capital Chronicle. "I do. I do."Hammond mayor Thomas McDermott expects final Bears stadium decision in 30 days: "Indiana did what they were asked to do. Illinois couldn't do what they were asked to do. So I'm confident the Bears are going to choose Hammond." Read: https://t.co/jRJIeJiB8Y via @nwi pic.twitter.com/JkFpHnkCRi— Mason Williams (@mvsonwilliams) June 1, 2026The Bears have yet to announce a final decision on where they're building, but had said an announcement would be coming in late spring or early July whatever happens. They said this has not changed after the defeat Monday morning in the Illinois legislature of the funding plan.Mindful that its not over until it's over, McDermott reminded everyone what his state had going for it as the Bears make their decision. There would be no taxes for the Bears. They would get to run the domed stadium, although they won't own it. The Bears would still pay the same $2 billion they were going to pay to get the Arlington Heights stadium built. Of course Pritzker is not going to give up the additional $77 BILLION TAX DOLLARS he has collected from Illinois taxpayers since becoming governor He needs those BILLIONS to pay for his over spending budget, which BTW allocates $410 MILLION for ILLEGALS He is so full of… https://t.co/stACsXPzQ3— Slats Grobnik (@MissinRoyko) June 2, 2026It's basically similar to the last plan Illinois considered except that there is no approval for multiple local stadium boards like the defeated Illinois plan. Also, the Bears do not own the property where the stadium is to be built — a site referred to by the Chicago Tribune as a "slag heap," and called toxic by numerous Chicago politicians since last December when the idea of an Indiana site became possible. The media blame game has begun. Time for politicians to try and save face.Governor Pritzker knows the Bears are going to Hammond. https://t.co/QrJk4YBBCj— Robert J Salvador (@RobertJSalvador) June 1, 2026"They're going to save millions of dollars every year operating over here in Indiana," McDermott said, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle. "I'm just reminding them that all this dysfunction that they see on the other side of the border is not how we do business in Indiana, so that's the best thing at this point."We've done everything we could." PER SOURCE: 👀@thecarm is reporting that Chicago based legislators are a "permanent no" on any bill until there is a certainty around the Bears payments of Soldier Field: ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/THpMox0oaH— CHGO Bears (@CHGO_Bears) June 2, 2026Not so in Illinois.The "dysfunction" was the political stalemate between Mayor Brandon Johnson in Chicago and the suburbs over whether the Bears were to be allowed to leave on their terms. Johnson has apparently won, and his prize is the Bears will still leave Chicago but will go out of state. Back home in IndianaAnother difference in the plans is Indiana will fund its part of stadium costs with tax hikes or creations. They're taxing admissions to the events at the dome a whopping 12% and will double the tax for hotels in Lake County, Ind. to 10%. They'll also have a 1% tax on food and beverages in Lake and Porter counties. Other possibilities loom, like funds and a hike in tolls from the Indiana Toll Road. They've already approved almost everything in their plan in the legislature, while the dysfunctional Illinois political mess led to the weekend disaster that was labeled by the Arlington Heights area political leaders as a "fumble" on the part of the Illinois legislature.It's easy to be happy today with the way the stadium went in Illinois if you're in Indiana and in favor of a stadium at Wolf Lake, a location just across the Illinois border and about 22 miles from Soldier Field.Until or if a plan to revive the Illinois stadium push occurs, the Hoosiers have every right to be optimistic. The comments from Gov. Mike Braun, from Memorial Day weekend now looks prophetic. He said they had a 65% chance of landing the Bears.Now it looks even higher..@SenCunningham: "There's nothing stopping the Bears from breaking ground in Arlington Heights tomorrow and building a stadium."The problem is they don't want to do that unless they get a massive tax break from Illinois. So they've introduced the political complication." pic.twitter.com/UhksQIBfJA— 104.3 The Score (@thescorechicago) June 2, 2026Sign Up For the Bears Daily Digest - OnSI’s Free Chicago Bears NewsletterAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow