CHICAGO — The Bring Chicago Home referendum to raise some real estate tax for homelessness prevention programs has failed.
The Associated Press called the race Friday night, with about 53.2 percent of voters rejecting the proposal and 46.8 percent of voters in favor.
The margin was about 21,000 votes. The results barely budged even after over 12,000 vote by mail ballots were counted by Friday night.
The referendum asked Chicagoans if they wanted to raise the city’s real estate transfer tax on high-end properties to create a revenue stream to fund homelessness programs. The measure would have raised the one-time fee paid on property sales over $1 million while lowering it on cheaper homes and buildings.
Proponents argued the rate hike was needed to help get people off the streets and into permanent housing. Critics said the change would have hurt landlords and commercial property owners, especially Downtown.
Opponents of the measure said other funds should be explored to reduce homelessness and offer more affordable housing, but the real estate transfer tax was not the way to do it.
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While mail-in ballots still need to be counted, some alderpeople who supported the proposal said they are discussing other taxes that could be used as revenue streams to fund homeless programs.
The loss is a big blow to the progressive agenda of Mayor Brandon Johnson and his City Council allies.
The controversial legislation stalled under Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s tenure, and was revived and modified after Johnson took office in May. The City Council voted 32-17 in November to place the Bring Chicago Home referendum on the ballot.
Downtown real estate groups opposed the ordinance, saying it would further harm a real estate market struggling to recover from pandemic closures and vacancies. A coalition of those groups sued to have the referendum removed from the ballot and won a ruling that invalidated the question and any recorded votes.
An appellate court overturned that decision, allowing votes on the referendum to be counted.
As results showed the referendum heading for defeat, proponents of the measure say low voter turnout, confusion among neighbors on the question and suspicions of how it would work might have affected the results. Critics say it’s a win for Chicago homeowners, renters and affordable housing providers, who already struggle to finance what little housing stock there is for low-income renters.
Block Club’s Quinn Myers contributed.
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