U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has endorsed a bill proposed by the independent Vermont senator to prevent teams from moving to other states. The bill would give communities a chance to keep their professional sports teams if their owners threatened to leave. It would allow local leaders a year to find another buyer or organize a community ownership structure like that used by the Green Bay Packers to take over the team. The legislation would apply if team owners relocate their home facility across state lines or out of metropolitan areas. The team's home is where it plays the majority of its home games, and the team plans to stay in the same media market and keep its headquarters in Lake Forest, where it holds practices and operations. While the bill's sponsors acknowledge it won't pass quickly, it would put the Bears' ambitions if they tried to move to Hammond, Ind., but not if the team left Soldier Field for a new stadium in Arlington Heights.