Andrea Medina and Gabriel Castillo
CHICAGO — One day after a Cook County judge invalidated the “Bring Chicago Home” referendum, advocates are reminding residents that it will remain on the ballot. But the votes won’t be counted unless the ruling is appealed, and that is what advocates are banking on.
Canvassers with the 25th Ward Independent Political Organization and the Chicago chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America went knocking door to door in Pilsen on Saturday to inform residents that they can still vote for the referendum question on the March primary ballot.
“We need to tax the rich in order to house the poor and working class across the entire city,” Elena Gormley. from the Chicago chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, said.
On Friday, a Cook County judge ruled the real estate transfer tax question is invalid, siding with the real estate and development groups who sued.
It is estimated that the tax could have generated $100 million in revenue.
The controversial measure would have raised a one-time tax hike on property sales valued at more than $1 million but lowered it on properties under that amount.
“We know that the reason they’re doing this is if they left it up to the voters of the City of Chicago, that they would not win,” volunteer Diego Morales said.
Alderman Raymond Lopez (15th Ward) said he does not believe that taxing high-end property transactions will solve the issue.
“Bring home Chicago was not about having a collaborative effort to help end homelessness, this was simply creating a new money train for nonprofit agencies, even though we see the statistics say the exact opposite,” Lopez said.
Lopez argues that homelessness has worsened in Chicago, despite the city already allocating hundreds of millions of dollars to combat it.
“Yet nobody asked how that money got spent, how effective were we and what our partners do,” Lopez said. “If that is what we can expect out of the ‘Bring Chicago Home’ money, then nothing is going to change.”
Alderwoman Maria Hadden (49th Ward) believes there needs to be a dedicated revenue to provide permanent affordable housing.
The alderwoman is displeased by the judge’s decision and vowed to appeal.
“These are the same companies raising your rents and deconverting your condos, displacing you and your family from our neighborhoods. These are the same companies leaving storefronts empty in our neighborhoods for a tax break while the communities remain starved for development. Their interests are clear – profits over people,” Hadden said in a statement.
With early voting underway, a spokesperson for the Chicago Board of Elections said the question will remain on the ballot, but votes will not be tallied unless it’s overturned by a state’s appeals court.