PRESS RELEASE from the
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE

CONTACT: Micky Horstman (312) 607-4977

Election results: Chicagoans reject Johnson’s real estate tax

CHICAGO (March 19, 2024) – Preliminary results from the Chicago Board of Elections indicate the “Bring Chicago Home” ballot referendum will fail, 54% to 46%, with over 98% of precincts reporting.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposal would have increased the real estate transfer tax on properties valued over $1 million. Johnson has not been able to pass any of the major tax hike proposals he campaigned on.

Illinois Policy Institute research suggested this tax hike would have been detrimental to Chicago’s precarious real estate market, discouraged entrepreneurs and business owners, and stunted housing development. The organization filed two ethics complaints against the Chicago Teachers Union, which donated at least $400,000 to the referendum, for taking students out of classrooms to vote at a partisan event. In leaked CTU contract demands, the union outlined that the transfer tax increase should be sp“This is a political blow to Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union, who aggressively supported this tax hike. With the defeat of Bring Chicago Home, Chicagoans made their voice heard: they’re wary of tax hikes.
ent in part on housing stipends for new teachers.

Johnson allocated $400 million in the 2024 budget for homelessness and unhoused migrants. Meanwhile, the city is sitting on millions of dollars in unused federal aid that could be used to reduce homelessness.

Matt Paprocki, president and CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute, provided the following statement:

“Even in a low turnout primary, Mayor Johnson failed to move enough voters to advance his chief proposal to hike Chicago real estate taxes.

“This is a political blow to Johnson and the Chicago Teachers Union, who aggressively supported this tax hike. With the defeat of Bring Chicago Home, Chicagoans made their voice heard: they’re wary of tax hikes.

“Johnson, who has the lowest approval rating of any first-term mayor in recent Chicago history, would be wise to focus more on the issues Chicagoans care about – high taxes, rising crime and the migrant crisis.”

To read more about Chicago’s election results, visit illin.is/election.

For interviews or interviews, contact media@illinoispolicy.org or (312) 607-4977.