Republicans Raise Toll Taxes to Fund Bears Stadium

The Indiana Capital Chronicle had an article this morning confirming something we’ve been telling you for months. I’ve said it on Facebook, on Twitter, and now for seven weeks on the Rob Kendall Show: don’t buy the lie that you aren’t going to pay for the Bears stadium. Don’t believe it, no matter where you live in Indiana. That’s been the excuse the whole time. There are massive tax increases coming as a result of this stadium if the Bears move to Hammond. At first, the General Assembly and Braun tried to say there wouldn’t be tax increases. Then it became clear that wasn’t true, and they pivoted to claiming the increases would only affect people in northwest Indiana. They said it would just be a regional thing and wouldn’t impact the rest of the state. That’s not true. Buried in the bill was the ability to move money off the toll road, specifically I-80 in northwest Indiana. Money that’s supposed to go toward roads could instead be redirected to the Bears stadium. Now that’s been confirmed, and on top of that, taxes are about to go up in that region to help pay for it.

Indiana Toll Road Toll Increases Tied to Bears Stadium Funding Plan

According to the Indiana Capital Chronicle, the state has agreed to let the private operator of the Indiana Toll Road increase tolls not once, but twice a year. This goes back to the deal under Mitch Daniels, when the state leased the toll road in exchange for billions in guaranteed payments. Originally, the operator could only raise tolls once per year. Now, under new legislation, they can raise them twice annually in exchange for $700 million going to the state. Right now, a full 157-mile trip costs $16.21 for a passenger vehicle and $87.49 for a class five truck. Under the amendment, tolls can increase every June 30th and December 31st starting in 2026. Previously, increases were capped at 2% per year. Now they can go up 1.5% each time, or more if inflation is higher. That effectively turns a 2% cap into 3% or more annually. The operator will make installment payments totaling $700 million: $300 million within 30 days, $200 million within a year, and another $200 million within two years. But the bottom line is simple. If you have to use that road, your costs are going up. That’s a tax. There’s no way around it.

How Hammond Bears Stadium Costs Will Affect Drivers Across Indiana

Here’s where it gets worse. This was never just a local tax. Anyone who uses that road, no matter where they live in Indiana, will be paying more. And where is that money going? Into a special fund for transportation and infrastructure projects in a seven-county area in northwest Indiana, including Hammond, the proposed site of the new Bears stadium. That means none of that money is going to the rest of the state. It’s not going to places like Fishers, Greenwood, Shelbyville, or Brownsburg. It stays in northwest Indiana, tied to where the stadium would be. So you’re paying more, and the money is being funneled into one region, largely to support that development. Meanwhile, the toll road operator only has to invest $25 million in capital improvements over five years. That’s $5 million a year, which is minimal and doesn’t even cover meaningful maintenance. So you’re paying more for a road that isn’t being significantly improved, while the revenue is redirected elsewhere.

Bears Stadium Tax Burden Expands Beyond Local Residents

This was always the plan. You’re seeing increases across the board—food and beverage taxes, hotel taxes, and now tolls. If you need that road to get to work, that’s another cost you don’t have a choice but to pay. Republicans control the legislature, but Democrats are involved as well. And in the end, taxpayers are getting very little back in terms of actual improvements. It’s a redistribution of costs to support a specific project. We said this would happen, and now it’s happening.