On Friday, the one-time real estate transfer tax referendum, intended to generate revenue to address homelessness, was officially voted down.
Chicago voters rejected the referendum, backed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, that would have incrementally raised the city’s real estate transfer tax on properties valued at more than $1 million. The measure would’ve also lowered the transfer tax for properties under $1 million, which comprise the majority of property sales in the city.
While the defeat of the measure, referred to as “Bring Chicago Home,” was seen as a referendum on Mayor Johnson’s administration, what it represented, had it passed, was a city-generated revenue source to address the unrelenting issue of homelessness in Chicago, supporters say.
In a city where Black Chicagoans make up more than half (53%) of the total population experiencing homelessness, the transfer tax would have generated $100 million for mental health services, job training and educational opportunities for the unhoused, its proponents say.
However, opponents of the tax, especially local real estate and business groups, said that it unfairly targeted commercial businesses. Those opponents, which comprised the Building Owners and Managers Association and others, initially sued the city’s Board of Elections to remove the referendum from March 19 ballots. However, an appeals court overturned the decision, and the Illinois Supreme Court declined their motion for appeal.
Though the measure was defeated, its supporters vowed to keep fighting.
On Friday night, the coalition behind Bring Chicago Home issued a statement after the Associated Press called the results:
“In 2017, a group of Chicago Coalition for the Homeless grassroots leaders with lived experience of homelessness first developed the idea of what became Bring Chicago Home. Since that first day, we have collectively fought for the revenue we need to provide the permanent housing and services the people experiencing homelessness in Chicago need.
We spent years building a broad coalition made up of people with lived experience of homelessness, union members, faith leaders, social service providers, community organizations, and grassroots volunteers. From landlords sending intimidating emails to tenants to a legal challenge attempting to invalidate the results, the realtors, corporate landlords, and mega-developers fought us at every turn, but we always had the will and power of the people on our side.
These election results did not end the fight. Instead, they amplify our commitment to finding solutions for housing insecurity and addressing homelessness.
And so, while we are disappointed in the results, we continue to stay focused on what matters most: the building of a long-term movement for housing justice, with, for, and by the 68,000 Chicagoans experiencing homelessness in one of the richest cities in the world. We invite all who share this vision to join us for the next chapter. The fight for housing justice continues because housing is a human right.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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