Illinois Supreme Court upholds 'Bring Chicago Home' real estate tax proposal on primary ballot

CHICAGO - The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that Mayor Brandon Johnson's proposed real estate transfer tax, known as "Bring Chicago Home," will remain on the primary ballot, and votes on the issue will be counted.

Opponents of the measure filed an appeal with Illinois' top court on Monday.

Attorneys representing the Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago argued that the referendum unfairly compels voters to approve or reject three separate policies with one question. They contended that the proposal would worsen Chicago's current high office vacancy rate, currently at 23 percent.

"Office buildings pay for everybody else's property taxes in their homes. So this is a backdoor property tax. And it's also the office industry's support is dominated by union jobs of every demographic, every corner of the city. So this idea that, you can see how these issues are connected to each other. The idea that, you know, oh, you're getting a tax increase, but, you know, other people are getting the increase, you don't have to worry about that is, we think, misleading and manipulative. This is a backdoor property tax on every homeowner renter in the city," said Farzin Parang, the Executive Director of Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago.

The Bring Chicago Home referendum proposes taxing property sales over a million dollars at a higher rate while promising a tax cut on anything sold for less than $1 million.

Supporters of the measure argue the funds raised would address homelessness. However, they have not completely revealed what the plan would look like.