An Indiana House panel approved legislation on Thursday to help finance a potential new NFL stadium for the Chicago Bears, the most concrete sign yet that one of the NFL's most storied franchises may be packing up and crossing the state line.

Fox News reported that the facility could be constructed near Wolf Lake in Hammond, Indiana, just across the border from the state the Bears have called home for over a century.

The Bears called the development the "most meaningful step forward" in their quest for a new stadium. That language doesn't leave much room for ambiguity.

Indiana Gov. Mike Braun revealed that the Bears approached his state five months ago after being "rebuffed" by their own government. Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, appearing on Fox News over the weekend, did not mince words about who deserves the blame.

"Governor Pritzker really is guilty of gubernatorial malpractice, and this isn't the first time a major business is about to leave Illinois."

Three Years of Being Ignored

The timeline here tells the whole story. According to Braun, the Bears have been trying to work with Illinois and Chicago for three years.

Three years of conversations, negotiations, and apparently getting nowhere. When you spend that long knocking on a door and nobody answers, eventually you try the house next door.

Braun was blunt about what he saw from the Illinois side of the border:

"This is dereliction because they've been trying to work with the state, with the city, for three years."

Gov. Pritzker told reporters he was "very disappointed" and caught off guard by the Bears' latest announcement, saying his staff spoke to the franchise for more than three hours on Wednesday. Three hours of talking on Wednesday doesn't undo three years of inaction.

The Bears had already gone to Indiana five months ago. Pritzker's marathon phone call wasn't a negotiation. It was a wake-up call he answered too late.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said during a news conference that the Bears "belong" in Chicago and that the door is open for conversations. Sentiment is nice. Legislation is nicer. Indiana passed actual legislation while Chicago held a press conference about feelings.

Priorities on Full Display

Blagojevich drove the knife to the hilt on Pritzker's spending priorities, and the numbers are hard to argue with:

"He spent $3 billion on illegal immigrants, migrants, and apparently doesn't have the money or has paid the attention to try to keep the Bears in Illinois."

Three billion dollars on illegal immigrants. Not on infrastructure. Not on keeping a major franchise and economic engine rooted in the state. On maintaining sanctuary city policies that the working people of Illinois never voted for and overwhelmingly don't want.

Blagojevich connected the dots further:

"He's been outplayed and outflanked by this Indiana governor because his priorities are all about defending sanctuary for illegal immigrants."

This is the core of it. Illinois didn't lose the Bears because Indiana made some irresistible offer out of nowhere. Illinois lost the Bears because its leadership spent years pouring resources into ideological priorities while ignoring the franchise that was practically begging for a workable deal.

The state had every advantage: history, a passionate fan base, an existing relationship. All Pritzker had to do was show up. He didn't.

A Pattern, Not an Accident

Blagojevich pointed out that the Bears wouldn't be the first major entity to flee Illinois. He cited Boeing and Tyson Foods as companies that have already left. The pattern is unmistakable:

• High taxes that make the state uncompetitive
• Leadership focused on progressive signaling over economic fundamentals
• Billions diverted to illegal immigration costs
• Businesses and franchises heading for states that actually want them

Indiana, meanwhile, is doing what functional state governments do. Braun confirmed he has no intention of changing the team's name, calling "Chicago Bears" an "iconic name."

He simply wants to give the franchise a "better home" where "the dollar goes a lot farther." That's not a complicated pitch. It's just one that Illinois couldn't be bothered to match.

The Working-Class Fan Base Pays the Price

The people who lose here aren't the politicians holding press conferences. They're the fans who've spent generations building their Sundays around the Bears. The small business owners near Soldier Field. The families for whom Bears football is woven into the identity of their city.

Blagojevich put it plainly:

"[Pritzker] turned his back on a working-class fan base of the Chicago Bears."

That's what stings most about this. Pritzker found $3 billion for illegal immigrants but couldn't find the will to keep the Bears.

The governor of a neighboring state saw an opportunity that Illinois's own governor was too distracted to notice. Hammond, Indiana, sits right across the border. Close enough for Bears fans to drive to. Far enough to send a message that Illinois's leadership failed them.

"This would be a disgrace if Pritzker allows the Bears to leave and allows the governor of Indiana to intercept our Bears."

Blagojevich is right about the disgrace. But the word "allows" is doing a lot of work in that sentence. Pritzker didn't just allow this.

He created the conditions that made it inevitable. You don't spend three years ignoring a franchise, blow billions on sanctuary policies, and then act surprised when someone else rolls out the red carpet.

Indiana didn't steal the Bears. Illinois gave them away.