‘Bring Chicago Home’ referendum invalidated but remains on March primary ballot for now
CHICAGO — A controversial measure to raise Chicago’s real estate transfer tax on high-end properties was invalidated on Friday but remains on the March primary ballot pending legal action.
Cook County Judge Kathleen Burke on Friday ruled that the referendum would be removed from the March primary ballot. However, a spokesperson for ‘Bring Chicago Home,’ told WGN News that “the votes will be sequestered unless the appellate court overturns (the) ruling.”
The ‘Bring Chicago Home,’ proposal sought to raise more than $100 million to pay for homelessness prevention in the city. A group of landlords and developers sued, however, arguing the measure violated state law by asking locals to vote in favor of a tax cut and subsequent tax hike.
In the interim, Chicago Board of Elections spokesperson Max Bever said early voting and voting by mail on the matter would continue:
Today, Judge Kathleen Burke granted the Plaintiffs’ Motion for Judgement on the Pleadings and invalidated the citywide referendum question on the March 19th Primary ballot.
The Circuit Court has not yet entered any written order based on the results of today’s hearing. As such, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners has not yet moved to appeal this decision and is still evaluating its options.
Early Voting and Voting By Mail in Chicago will continue until the Board is directed otherwise. The Board awaits future direction from the Circuit Court of Cook County on this matter.
Max Bever, Director of Public Information, Chicago Board of Elections
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The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless board president, Maxica Williams, reacted to the ruling, saying in part, “Today’s ruling, while disappointing, is not surprising. The far-right has demonstrated over and over again their willingness to use the courts to disenfranchise voters and strip us of popular policies that help women, communities of color, and poor- and working-class people.”
Williams said the judge’s ruling will be appealed.
“While today’s decision is not what we hoped it would be, we will continue to work tirelessly to encourage every person to vote yes on Ballot Question 1 and towards our broader goals of bringing every Chicagoan out of the cold and into a home,” Williams added.
Read more: Latest Chicago news headlines
Jeff Baker, CEO of Illinois REALTORS, stated in reaction to the ruling, “Every renter and property owner in the city should be pleased with the court’s decision today. The most important thing that we can all do now is sit down together to develop a real plan for better homelessness prevention and to further housing stability.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson backed the proposal.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The story has been updated to reflect that the referendum has not been removed from the March primary ballot pending an appeals court ruling.
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