The Chicago Bears’ long search for a new home has now turned into a political fight, and CEO Kevin Warren is taking the heat for how messy the process has become. With the spring legislative session in Springfield entering its final week, lawmakers are closing in on the legal side of the stadium debate. But after years of shifting plans, stalled talks, and competing options between Illinois and Indiana, the bigger question still is whether Warren’s handling of the $5 billion stadium push made the situation harder than it needed to be.

According to state Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago, the Bears’ leadership deserves much of the blame for how long the process has dragged on. Peters specifically pointed to Warren and the McCaskey family, calling the team’s approach “mishandling” from the start.

“I think a lot of the blame has to be put on the Bears for how they’ve behaved in all of this,” said state Sen. Robert Peters, D-Chicago. “I just think that this entire effort has been a mess. It’s been chaotic. I think the Bears have been playing a lot of games. I think the Bears have been pitting states against states, pitting suburb against city, pitting governor against mayor, and I think it all comes back to the Bears.”

Currently, the Bears are based in Illinois, with Soldier Field as their home ground. However, Warren has kept the franchise’s options open between Arlington Heights and Hammond, Indiana. That has only sharpened criticism from lawmakers who believe the team is using Indiana’s interest as leverage while Illinois tries to keep the franchise from leaving the state.

Peters believes the franchise is trying to start a bidding war between the two states to squeeze local municipalities and residents for public money. NBC 5 Chicago asked the Bears for a response to Peters’ concerns, but the organization did not respond on Friday.

Illinois is under pressure because Indiana has already made an aggressive push for the franchise. Through the efforts of Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. and Gov. Mike Braun, Indiana lawmakers have moved forward with a plan to finance and build a domed stadium in Hammond, about 25 miles from the Bears’ current home on Lake Michigan’s shore. McDermott has also argued that the political back-and-forth in Illinois only strengthens Hammond’s case.

“The Chicago Bears have exhausted every opportunity to stay in Chicago, which was our initial goal,” the team said in a statement. “There is not a viable site in the city. As a result, the only sites under consideration are in Arlington Heights and Hammond.”

That statement came after questions were raised over whether the Bears had re-engaged with Chicago about a possible lakefront stadium. State Sen. Bill Cunningham said there had been contact between the team and the city in late April, but the Bears pushed back by saying those were confidential discussions about their Soldier Field lease, not a renewed stadium search in Chicago.

The team’s position also lines up with Warren’s comments at the NFL annual league meeting, where he said the Bears hoped to choose a site for an enclosed stadium by late spring or early summer. For now, though, the franchise has not finalized a site. Arlington Heights and Hammond remain the two options under consideration.

On the Illinois side, lawmakers are still working through the megaprojects bill, which would give large developments a path to long-term property tax certainty. The Illinois House already approved the measure, but the Senate and Gov. J.B. Pritzker still have to sign off before anything becomes law.

Peters is currently a “no” vote on the bill, though he has left room to be swayed. His district includes Soldier Field, and he has said he wants more investment in the stadium area and the broader museum campus. Pritzker, however, has sounded more optimistic that lawmakers can still get something done.

“I feel confident that there will be a bill that gets brought up in the Senate, and I’m hopeful they’ll pass it and send it over to the House,” Pritzker said.

He also added, “I’ve seen miracles happen every year. Every single year.”

For Pritzker, the issue has narrowed to a simple question: whether Illinois can keep the Bears or risk watching them cross the state line.

“The NFL has to approve whatever the Bears decide they want to do. And so listening to both, there really are only two choices: Do we want them in the state of Illinois, or do we want them to move to the state of Indiana?” Pritzker said.

The Chicago Bears have a tough road ahead with their new project in Illinois

Similar to Sen. Robert Peters, Sen. Rachel Ventura is following a “no-vote” policy. However, unlike him, she does not have any way that the franchise will sway her. Her only motivation remains to work for the people and make sure they are not in harm’s way.

“We all want businesses and good paying jobs here. But there’s a lot of issues with the mega project right now, and there are not enough checks and balances, clawbacks if businesses don’t do what they need to do,” said Sen. Rachel Ventura.

Sen. Ventura is happy to be working for the blue-collar people. A new stadium means that the Bears will be getting a tax break, and it is the middle-class people who will have to bear it. For example, the Dallas Cowboys‘ AT&T Stadium saw the residents paying approximately $325 million in taxes. Now, with the Bears eyeing a $5 billion project, the amount is expected to be higher. Because of that, she is not a supporter of the Bears changing their home.

“If [the Bears] don’t want to pay property taxes, they can stay in Soldier Field. What a beautiful stadium that is,” Ventura said.

Regardless of what Ventura said, according to the Illinois General Assembly, they would be providing the megaprojects a minimum tax break of a $100 million. It perfectly lines up with the Bears’ plan to build a complex on a 326-acre tract of land they own in Arlington Heights.

Now, everything depends on Pritzker. With only two options left, it is ultimately the NFL that has to approve whatever the Bears are planning to do. The Chicago Bears have been playing at Soldier Field since 1971. So many memories have been made at the homeground. However, as a charter team, the stadium is not owned by the Bears.

This makes the project even more significant. While moving homes to Indiana is not something that the fans would want, the franchise would also want its own home. This will help them boost the revenue, and thereby help the team reach new heights.