Chicago voters will be allowed to decide the Bring Chicago Home referendum question after the Illinois Supreme Court Wednesday denied real estate groups’ effort to appeal — a decision that brings the winding legal saga to a close less than a week before election day.
The state’s highest court issued the decision in a written order without further explanation.
Three of the high court’s seven justices — Democrats P. Scott Neville Jr., Joy V. Cunningham and Mary K. O’Brien — did not take part in the decision and did not explain why they recused themselves.
The decision cements the referendum’s place on the ballot, which asks whether the city should increase a tax on the sale of high-end properties to raise revenue for homelessness prevention.
“As the Illinois Supreme Court refused to hear this appeal, it is confirmed: All votes cast for the citywide referendum question will be counted and reported by the Chicago Board of Elections on Election Night, March 19th,” Chicago Board of Elections spokesman Max Bever said.
And it realizes a goal that organizers have sought for more than five years: to put the issue before voters. Doug Schenkelberg, executive director of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, applauded Wednesday’s ruling, calling the real estate group’s appeal a “flimsy attempt.”
“Our coalition knew when we launched this campaign over six years ago that big-money corporate real estate would fight us at every turn, and we were right. From emailing tenants with the threat of a rent increase to using the courts to try to stop our votes from being counted, they have consistently demonstrated that they would rather profit from the housing crisis than pay their fair share to fix it,” Schenkelberg said in a statement.
The ballot question’s status was thrown into flux last month after a Cook County Circuit judge sided with real estate groups and ruled the referendum question should be invalidated.
But an appellate court reversed that decision last week, ruling it was premature for the courts to weigh in on the referendum it said was merely a step in the ongoing legislative process.
Real estate industry groups that sued — including the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago — argued the ballot question violates the state constitution by combining multiple questions into one. They also argued supporters sugarcoated the question by combining an unpopular tax increase with a more favorable tax cut, and that the ballot language of “addressing homelessness” is too vague.
The Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago said it is considering next steps. The group’s executive director, Farzin Parang, said while it is disappointed in the ruling, it was important to challenge the question.
“This back-door property tax hike would hurt our downtown and local neighborhoods alike, impacting homeowners, renters, union workers, and business owners large and small,” Parang said in a statement. “What is especially troubling is that Mayor (Brandon) Johnson’s transfer tax hike would give the City a blank check with no accountability for improving our housing and migrant shelter crises.”
Voters will be deciding whether to authorize changing the real estate transfer tax — a one-time tax imposed at the time of sale — from a flat tax, to a three-tiered one.
Under the proposal, the portion of property valued under $1 million would see a 20% decrease in the tax rate, from 0.75% to 0.6%. Meanwhile, the portion of property valued between $1 million and $1.5 million would be taxed at 2%, and anything higher than $1.5 million would be taxed at four times the current rate, at 3%.
The increase in revenue generated under the new structure, an estimated $100 million annually, would be dedicated to funding affordable housing, rental subsidies and services to prevent homelessness. Under state law, voters must approve the measure to give the City Council the authority to enact the change.
The campaign over the ballot question has been heated, as opponents and supporters have raked in millions to fund their outreach. End Homelessness, a political action committee formed to support the tax proposal, has raised over $2 million since its inception. Meanwhile, three separate political action committees campaigning to oppose the tax have raised over $2.2 million, with a PAC formed by Illinois Realtors leading the way.
Mariah Woelfel and Tessa Weinberg cover Chicago politics.
