Chicago Bears or 'Hammond Hams'? Amid escalating rhetoric, Hoosiers hold out hope for new stadium

In the tug-of-war between Illinois and Indiana over the Chicago Bears, Gov. JB Pritzker, who is widely believed to be running for president in 2028, may have already lost a supporter from his own party.

“I'm not voting for him for president. I can tell you that,” Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott Jr., a Democrat in this blue-collar city, told the Chicago Sun-Times Tuesday.

McDermott took issue with a quip by Pritzker in which he jokingly told CNN that “Fans will be very upset if the Bears move across the border and become, I don’t know, the Hammond Hams.”

“I've always been a fan of JB Pritzker. Obviously he feels very threatened,” McDermott said. “Indiana is a better state to do business in, which is a fact. Obviously he takes issue with that, and then he wants to disparage the city of Hammond.”

McDermott said the city and state — led by Republican Gov. Mike Braun — are monitoring Illinois’ lawmakers next move to keep the Bears in Illinois.

Last week, the Illinois House voted 78-32 to approve a megaprojects proposal intended to support a new domed stadium on the site of the former Arlington Heights racetrack. The bill represents the first major legislative step toward ensuring the Bears stay in Illinois and fending off an incentive-packed offered by Indiana lawmakers. The Illinois Senate must still approve the measure by the end of next month.

Pritzker is urging lawmakers to move faster.

“There is a need for speed here,” Pritzker said last week. “We need to move somewhat expeditiously.”

But McDermott argues that Indiana’s plan, which includes $1 billion in public funding, is an overall better deal for the Bears.

“The Bears will save billions of dollars by relocating to Hammond. I feel secure we've done everything that we could possibly do to bring over a world-class organization like the Chicago Bears,” McDermott said.

Despite the seemingly long odds and the long time it’s taking the Bears to make a decision, Hammond residents and business owners remain hopeful the team will move to the Hoosier state.

“It does seem like they're dragging their feet,” said Christine Cash, general manager at the Wyndham Hammond Hotel and Conference Center, situated a few miles away from the proposed stadium site at Wolf Lake Park.

Cash said a new domed NFL stadium could be a boon to local businesses.

“Not only are we going to have football here, but it's going to be used year-round. You don't have to worry about the weather. We'll get all those great concerts. It’s going to affect the whole region as far as hotel rooms, restaurants,” Cash said.

It’s not just Hoosiers who want to see the Bears move out of the city.

So do some Chicagoans.

“It would be awesome if it was here in Hammond. I don't want to go to Arlington Heights. That's too far. I’d be loving it if it was closer to me,” said 52-year-old Jason Habzansky, who lives in Hegewisch on Chicago’s Far Southeast Side, adjacent to Hammond.

Habzansky was having lunch recently at Johnel’s Restaurant on Hammond’s north side near Wolf Lake Park.

At Olympia Lanes bowling alley nearby, Jose Moreno, 69, a retired Chicago firefighter, said Northwest Indiana could use the investment.

“They have a lot of room because the steel mills have closed. A lot of people are hurting from that. It would definitely benefit the residents from not only Hammond, but Gary and so forth. Those are the areas that need it,” said Moreno, who lives on Chicago’s Southeast Side. “It will also help my area. People are hurting for jobs there as well.”

A few years ago, 67-year-old Tina Alvarez moved from Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood on the North Side to Whiting, Indiana, just a few miles from Wolf Lake Park.

Despite enjoying her little town and much smaller property tax bill, Alvarez doesn’t want to see the Bears move here.

“They already have the real estate that they need in Arlington Heights, and all they're looking for is a tax break,” Alvarez said. I have a feeling they're going to go to Arlington.”

But Hammond resident Keith Degard said he hopes the Bears will cross the state line, and neither the state nor the city should give up trying.

“It’s an opportunity of a lifetime to lure an NFL franchise,” the 63-year-old Degard said. “Look at the traffic it would generate from the city. They're all just not driving through. They're making stops and spending money.”

McDermott said he understands why the Bears are weighing both proposals and bristles at the idea that the team is just using Indiana as leverage in its negotiations.

“I look at the amount of money that they spent on this, probably at least $10 million. I mean there's dozens and dozens of environmental consultants, architects, environmental lawyers, finance people, dozens and dozens, and they're all working hard, and they're looking at one part of Indiana, and that's the Wolf Lake area of Hammond,” McDermott said. “They've spent a lot of time and money analyzing Hammond, Indiana. I don't think that’s fake.”