Illinois: Chicago Voters Reject Transfer Tax Bill Aimed at Funding Homeless Programs

The Bring Chicago Home referendum was rejected by voters in the March 19 primary election. The referendum was to fund homeless programs by changing the flat transfer tax rate in place to a graduated rate. Had the measure passed, the rate would have decreased slightly on sales less than $1 million but would have increased for sales between $1–1.5 million and would have quadrupled for sales greater than $1.5 million. There were strong concerns from the real estate industry on how the increased transfer taxes would have impacted an already very challenging real estate market.

The referendum went through a variety of court challenges before making it to the primary ballot. Initially, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) and other interested parties successfully filed a lawsuit to circuit court indicating that the ballot language was illegal, resulting in a ruling that the referendum votes would not be counted. That decision was later overturned at appellate court, which ruled that the votes would be counted. Subsequently, BOMA and other interested parties filed to the Illinois Supreme Court, which declined to intervene, and as a result, the referendum remained on the ballot. Millions of dollars were spent on both sides of the issue, but ultimately the measure did not pass.

The experts at Ryan will continue to closely monitor and will provide updates as they become available. We encourage you to reach out with questions.