The Chicago Bears are looking at Indiana as a next possible home. Indiana lawmakers made a key decision about the team on Thursday when they unanimously approved a bill that would make it possible for the Bears to play in Hammond, Indiana.

With a 24-0 vote to amend Indiana State Bill 27, lawmakers authorized the Northwest Indiana Stadium Authority to acquire land and finance construction for a stadium in Hammond, Indiana, about 25 minutes south of Soldier Field (their current home), which they will lease until 2033. The city of Chicago owns the stadium.

In a statement, the Bears said they appreciate the leadership of Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, Speaker Todd Huston, Senator Ryan Mishler and members of the Indiana General Assembly to make the move possible.

“We value our partnership and look forward to continuing to build our working relationship together,” the Bears stated, according to ESPN.

Braun also praised the team’s partnership with the state via X, saying that “Indiana is open for business.”

“Our pro-growth environment continues to attract major opportunities like this partnership with the Chicago Bears,” Braun wrote. “We’ve identified a promising site near Wolf Lake in Hammond and established a broad framework for negotiating a final deal. If approved, the proposed amendment to Senate Bill 27 puts forward the essential framework to complete this agreement, contingent upon site due diligence proceeding smoothly.”

Why are the Chicago Bears moving to Indiana?

The Bears appeared to be working with the city of Chicago on a plan that would help them avoid full property taxes. According to ESPN, the plan was for the Bears to invest $2 billion for stadium construction and receive about $850 million in public funding for roads, sewers and other “essential local infrastructure.”

An Illinois House panel stated that a hearing was scheduled for Thursday to address the legislation, but it was canceled.

“Illinois was ready to move this bill forward,” a spokesperson for Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker told ESPN. “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.”

There’s still a possibility for the Bears to play in Chicago

According to ABC 7 Chicago, there’s still a possibility for the Bears to play in Chicago’s Arlington Heights neighborhood. However, that plan hit a hurdle when the “mega project bill” was canceled on Thursday before being presented to the Illinois House committee.

Ernie Rose from Touchdown Arlington, the grassroots organization aiming to keep the Bears’ home in Chicago, said “something unusual is going to have to happen” to keep the team in Illinois.

“We’re going to need all of leadership to get on board, one with moving the Bears to Arlington Heights,” Rose told ABC 7. “I’m still hearing comments about a possibility of a Chicago statement coming from leadership and we’ve got to disabuse that notion. There’s one option and the only option at this point is Arlington Heights.”