Chicago Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Brian Urlacher believes the team will ultimately build a new stadium in Illinois.

Urlacher made the comments during a podcast hosted by Illinois State Representative Martin McLaughlin, of Barrington Hills, that was released on Friday.

“I don’t want them out of Illinois, our fans don’t deserve that,” Urlacher said. “The Bears fans are the best fans in the NFL. They need to be in Illinois. Like I said, I think they’ll get it done. There’s some negotiations going on behind the scenes. I don’t know, I’m not a business guy, so I don’t know. But I feel they’re gonna get it done and keep them in Illinois.”

Urlacher shared his thoughts as the team is deciding whether it will cross state lines and build a new stadium in Hammond, Indiana.

The Bears announced earlier this month that their board of directors voted to advance its stadium project in Hammond. The news came after the Illinois General Assembly failed to pass legislation before the end of the spring session that would’ve guaranteed the Bears tax certainty and infrastructure improvements to build on land that they own in Arlington Heights.

The franchise said it plans to make a decision about where it will build its new stadium sometime in late spring or early summer.

Numerous different Illinois legislators have introduced or said they would introduce legislation to stop the Bears from moving to Indiana. McLaughlin was one of those lawmakers as he promoted his bill along with Urlacher.

“Once they announced Indiana, not only was I embarrassed, I thought, you know what, I’m a business guy, I’m going to put together a straight bill, see if I can kind of put the framework out there,” McLaughlin said.

The framework of McLaughlin‘s bill would require commitments from the Bears and the state. It would require the Bears and development investors to put in a minimum of $2.5 billion toward the project. In return, the franchise would have tax certainty for 30 years. The state would also agree to put in approximately $1.2 billion in infrastructure improvements surrounding the stadium district.

Whether the legislation will be heard soon remains up in the air. Illinois legislators aren’t expected to return to Springfield until November for the fall veto session. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has been open to a special session during the summer, though if there is enough support for a specific bill.

“There’s politics and then there’s common sense, right?” McLaughlin said. “It doesn’t make sense to let this thing go to Indiana so I always let’s make sense common again.”

This wasn’t the first time Urlacher has talked about the Bears’ potential stadium move recently.

Urlacher joined Fox News last week, where he said he didn’t want the Bears to leave Soldier Field, let alone the state of Illinois. He blamed Pritzker and Illinois lawmakers for not passing a bill that would’ve met the Bears’ requirements to build in Illinois.

He criticized the state’s handling of immigration during that interview and did so again with McLaughlin.

“It’s just going to bring so many things in,” Urlacher said of new stadium development. “Aside from all the money they’ve given to illegal immigrants and whatever else Pritzker’s done.”

Urlacher thought the Bears’ announcement earlier this month might have been a ploy to try to get the state of Illinois to move quicker than it had in the past.

The legendary linebacker believed building in Arlington Heights would make the most sense for the team. But he also understood why Indiana was currently considered the frontrunner to land the new stadium.

“The Bears bought that property for a reason,” Urlacher said. “They know and business, it makes total sense for them to go to Arlington Heights, right? I mean, or even if the state of Illinois will start cooperating. But Indiana makes a ton of sense right now to me.”