No legislative deal is a setback for Illinois and suburban leaders who say lawmakers - fumbled a golden opportunity and may have all but guaranteed the Chicago Bears will be Indiana-bound.
"They're making a huge mistake if they don't choose Hammond, in my opinion," Hammond Mayor Tom McDermott said.
RELATED: Illinois General Assembly ends session without passing Chicago Bears stadium bill
Mayor McDermott talked about the Bears as the location of the team's new $3.2 billion stadium hangs in the balance.
"Let's just be honest. They can't get it done. They haven't gotten it done, are not going to get it done," McDermott said.
Illinois lawmakers ended the spring session this weekend without passing legislation to keep the team in Illinois and build in Arlington Heights.
Mayor McDermott made his comments Tuesday morning on the left of center podcast he hosts with long time attorney and political strategist Kevin Smith.
"We're going to get this started, or they're going to say, no, we're not going to do this," Mayor McDermott said. "And if that's the case and God bless them, then if Hammond's no longer at the Bear side, then the Bears could go back and deal with JB Pritzker and Brandon Johnson and Mayor Tinaglia on their own, without Hammond and without Hammond to beat up on from the city of Chicago, calling us a toxic waste dump and all the other (expletive) they've been saying about Hammond."
The failed measure would've allowed for a mostly Bears funded stadium that would be publicly owned, meaning the team would not have to pay property tax.
It passed the Senate but stalled in the House. Suburban leaders in Arlington Heights are hopeful the team could still build on the old Arlington Park site.
"I don't think the game is over. I think that this play was a fumble, but it's just one play in the game," Arlington Heights Mayor Jim Tinaglia said.
But while some think the Chicago Bears are all but Indiana-bound, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is still optimistic about a new lakefront stadium in the city is still in play.
"The framework that the Senate put together is literally the framework that we presented two years ago, so look, I'm just going to remain steady," Mayor Johnson said.
The Bears have said it's going to finalize its evaluation of both Arlington Heights and Hammond and they're still on track to make a decision by late spring or early summer