As Indiana’s 2025 legislative session continues, Gary Common Council members want to create more transparency between legislators and constituents.

Councilman Kenneth Whisenton, D-at large, said multiple bills have targeted the city this legislative session.

“The reality is, the city of Gary is under attack,” Whisenton said during the council’s meeting Tuesday. “Plain and simple. There’s no nice way to say it.”

Councilman Darren Washington, D-at large, proposed the council create a state legislative committee that would help keep residents informed about how proposed legislation would impact the city.

Washington’s proposal came after multiple bills were introduced this session that impacted Gary, calling out House Bill 1001 specifically. House Bill 1001 is focused on the state budget and proposes a change to the makeup of the Gary/Chicago International Airport Authority board.

The bill reduces the number of appointments that Gary’s mayor can make from four to one. The cities of Hammond and Crown Point and the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District will each be allowed to appoint one member.

Washington called House Bill 1001 discomforting, and he is concerned by the change because the legislation doesn’t tell what Hammond or Crown Point will contribute to the airport.

Gary resident John Allen said during public comment that he and other residents are concerned about the bill, especially because the airport is in the city’s largest TIF district, and they don’t know how much of their taxes go toward the airport.

Residents feel desperate and angered, Allen said.

“They even proposed something as drastic as selling the airport and making it private to a company,” he added.

It’s important for local leadership to pay attention to how proposed bills impact Gary, Washington said.

“At the end of the session, we can prepare for the upcoming session by looking at legislation that we believe our council and our city can help legislators with,” he added. “There are so many bills that fly through the General Assembly that our legislators don’t catch everything.”

The state legislative committee would allow local leaders and state legislators to meet about bills that have a direct impact on Gary. Washington proposed that the committee should meet on Fridays because legislators are most available then.

Council President Lori Latham, D-1st, voiced her support for the committee. She plans to check to see if the council can create a new committee.

“I would say that this is a good idea, but it’s actually beyond that,” Latham told Washington. “It’s visionary and strategic.”

This legislative session, Latham has been outspoken about House Bill 1448, which if passed by both the House and Senate, would require Gary to pay approximately $12.3 million to the cities of East Chicago and Michigan City.

A mistake by the Indiana State Comptroller sent funds to Gary that should have been distributed to East Chicago and Michigan City to ease the financial burden following the move of the Majestic Star casinos at Buffington Harbor to Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, located along Interstate 80/94, according to Post-Tribune archives.

Latham, Gary Mayor Eddie Melton and City Controller Celita Green spoke at a Jan. 22 Ways and Means committee meeting about how the bill would impact the city’s finances. Latham told representatives that the bill would set Gary back and unravel its success.

“It was never really about gaming,” she told committee members on Jan. 22. “Instead, it was an opportunity to optimize our casino license, one of the many economic development tools created by this body through legislation, and allowed us to use every asset at our disposal to catalyze our city’s economic development, progress and upward mobility.”

This legislative session, other council members have voiced concerns about House Bill 1136, which calls for a school district to dissolve if more than half its students in the legal settlement area attend school elsewhere by the fall 2024 student count data.

As of Wednesday morning, House Bill 1136 has died in committee, according to the Indiana General Assembly website.

Parliamentarian Linda Barnes-Caldwell, D-5th, said in January that if the bill passed, it would mean the end of the Gary Community School Corporation.

“Please call downstate immediately,” Barnes-Caldwell urged residents in January. “Whatever you can do will help. Don’t be silent, please let your voice be heard.”

mwilkins@chicagotribune.com