At the bottom of their March 19 primary ballots, Chicago primary voters will see a referendum for which their votes will count—but nearly didn’t.
Ballot Question 1, also known as “Bring Chicago Home,” would cut the tax rate for real estate transactions of less than $1,000,000 by 20 percent, from $3.75 to $3.00 per $500. But it would raise the transfer tax for the value of transactions over $1,000,000 in a graduated way.
Specifically, the price for the portion of transactions between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000 would increase by 166.67 percent to $10 per $500. Any portion over $1,500,000 would rise by 300 percent. That’s an increase from $3.75 to $15 per $500.
According to the language in the referendum, the extra money would go toward “addressing homelessness, including providing permanent affordable housing and the services necessary to obtain and maintain permanent housing in the City of Chicago.”…
