Indiana's governor remains hopeful that the Chicago Bears will move across the state line.
Before boarding the South Shore Line's first Monon Corridor train Tuesday, Governor Mike Braun told reporters that the football team's due diligence seems to be moving forward at a "deliberate speed." "We don't get ahead of our skis," Braun said. "All I can tell you is we move at the speed of business, and we made it easy to get where it is and we'll keep performing accordingly."
Braun signed a law in February that would cover up to half the cost of a Hammond stadium, using taxes on hotels and restaurants, as well as tickets to stadium events. In Illinois, a bill that would freeze property tax assessments for a proposed Arlington Heights stadium, so far, hasn't made it out of the House.
There's also a bill at the federal level that would prevent owners of professional sports teams from moving them across state lines, without giving the local community a chance to buy the team first. In a press release, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders criticized billionaire team owners for seeking "hundreds of millions in corporate welfare."
The possible stadium was a recurring theme at Tuesday's Monon Corridor ribbon cutting.
Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. said the recent investments in commuter rail have brought attention to the area, "Even from organizations like the Chicago Bears taking a serious look at Northwest Indiana. Let's be clear. That kind of attention didn't happen before this project was created. This project started that momentum."
Hammond's proposed stadium site is roughly three miles away from the closest South Shore station and two miles from the nearest Amtrak station. Braun said he's not willing to commit to a new train station at the site.
"We're not going to make any promises other than we're going to be easy to deal with, and we're going to move quickly," Braun told reporters. "You never know where that might take you."
The Bears have said that they plan to make a decision by this spring or summer.
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