Real estate groups ask Illinois Supreme Court to rule on Bring Chicago Home tax referendum
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Opponents of a bid to raise taxes on high-end property sales in Chicago to raise money to fight homelessness have asked the Illinois Supreme Court to block votes from being counted on the question on next week's ballot.
The Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago (BOMA) and several other real estate and business groups on Monday filed an appeal with the state's highest court, asking justices to reverse last week's ruling by an Illinois Appellate Court panel that cleared the way for Chicago voters to decide the outcome of the so-called Bring Chicago Home tax referendum on March 19.
The ballot measure would ask voters to authorize the City Council to increase the city's real estate transfer tax for million-dollar properties, while lowering the rate for less expensive properties.
- The transfer tax for properties valued at less than $1 million would drop from 0.75% to 0.60%.
- Properties sold for between $1 million and $1.5 million would pay a 2% transfer tax, nearly triple the current rate.
- Properties sold for $1.5 million or more would pay a 3% transfer tax, four times the current rate.
Supporters have estimated the Bring Chicago Home referendum would generate an additional $100 million in annual tax revenue. The money would go toward the city's efforts to fight homelessness.
Critics have argued the proposed tax question amounts to illegal "log-rolling" - where unpopular legislation is bundled with more attractive elements to secure success – in this case, combining a tax hike on the sale of million-dollar properties with a tax cut on the sale of properties valued at less than $1 million.
Last month, Cook County Judge Kathleen Burke ruled the Bring Chicago Home referendum was invalid, and any votes for the proposal should not be counted in next Tuesday's primary election.
But last week, an Illinois Appellate Court panel overturned Burke's ruling, allowing votes on the referendum to be counted.
Illinois Appellate Court Justice Raymond Mitchell wrote that it's not the duty of the courts to rule on the validity of a proposed law until the legislative process is complete, noting that voters have yet to weigh in on the proposed tax plan.
"Courts do not, and cannot, interfere with the legislative process," Mitchell wrote. "Courts are empowered to rule on the validity of legislative enactments only after they have been enacted."
The appeals court ruling also noted Burke failed to explain her reasoning for ruling against the referendum.
"We are left guessing as to the bases for the circuit court's ruling because the lower court gave no reasons for its ruling," Mitchell wrote.
BOMA appealed that ruling on Monday, arguing in their court filing that the referendum is "blatantly unconstitutional," and that last week's appeals court ruling flies in the face of legal precedent that "prohibits referendum questions that are vague, ambiguous and not self-executing."
"The referendum question is misleading and manipulative, and we believe it is important to see this through. The Appellate Court's opinion implies that an illegal referendum cannot be challenged until after an election—after voters have already been harmed. Given the importance of this topic, we will ask the Illinois Supreme Court to hear an appeal," BOMA Chicago executive director Farzin Parang said in a statement. "If passed, this referendum would create a backdoor property tax for everyone in Chicago. It would give the City hundreds of millions of dollars in blank checks with no actual plan to support the homeless and no accountability."
The Bring Chicago Home coalition supporting the referendum criticized BOMA's appeal.
"The real estate lobby continues its efforts to silence Chicago voters on a popular referendum to address a housing crisis they have created and benefit from–all while 68,000 people have no stable place to stay," Maxica Williams, Chair of the End Homelessness Ballot Initiative Committee and Board President of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, said in a statement. "The First District Appellate Court was unanimous in saying the matter of this referendum should be entrusted to the people of Chicago, who have a right to a legislative process free of interference, and we wholeheartedly agree: Chicagoans know what's right for their communities–not billion-dollar developers who hide behind PACs and throw roadblocks up in the democratic process."
The Bring Chicago Home referendum has been a signature initiative of Mayor Brandon Johnson and his progressive allies since his successful campaign for office last year.
"I've said all along the people of Chicago should determine how we address the unhoused crisis in Chicago, and I made a commitment as not just a candidate, but as mayor of the city of Chicago, that I would do everything in my power to move us closer towards housing for all," Johnson said after the appeals court ruling last week.
It was not immediately clear if the Illinois Supreme Court would agree to take up BOMA's appeal, or – if it does – whether it would rule on the validity of the Bring Chicago Home referendum before Tuesday's election.
