The Blubber

Chicago voters have rejected a tax increase on sales of properties over $1 million. The extra revenue would have gone toward addressing homelessness, per NYT.

Chicago voters have turned down a proposed one-time real estate tax on properties over $1 million to fund services for homeless individuals.

The defeat is a setback for first-term Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who strongly supported the "mansion tax."

The initiative would have gradually increased the city's real estate transfer tax on properties valued at more than $1 million. Advocates estimated it could have raised $100 million annually for homeless services, including mental health care, in a city where around 68,000 people are homeless on any given night.

Additionally, the proposal aimed to reduce the transfer tax on properties valued under $1 million, which make up the majority of home sales in Chicago.

Opponents, including real estate organizations, argued that the tax unfairly targeted commercial properties and businesses, especially as the downtown area was still recovering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, they successfully challenged the measure in court on constitutional grounds, but their victory was later overturned by an appeals court. The Illinois Supreme Court refused to hear their appeal.

Similar measures have been approved by voters in cities like Los Angeles and Santa Fe, New Mexico.