Chicago to Appeal Order Halting Vote on Proposed Mansion Tax

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) wants voters to continue casting ballots supporting his proposed “mansion tax” to fund homeless services despite a court ruling late last week barring the Chicago Board of Elections from counting votes on the tax referendum.

The city’s corporation counsel on Monday filed a petition for a stay of Cook County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Burke’s order denying its authority to intervene. Separately the city filed a notice of appeal in the Appellate Court of Illinois, saying Chicago would quickly ask the court to reverse Burke’s Feb. 23 judgment, which orders the Board of Elections not to count “any votes cast on the referendum question at the March 19, 2024 primary election, and not to publish any tallies or results of any votes cast on the referendum question.”

Meanwhile the Board of Elections, the true defendant in the lawsuit challenging the mansion tax vote, is to announce its appeal plans on Tuesday. The board also issued an alert to voters stressing that early voting and voting by mail on the issue “will not be paused” and “voting will continue as normal.”

“The board is going to announce its plans tomorrow at its board meeting,” said agency spokesman Max Bever. “It’s a difficult tangle because we are a separate, independent agency from the City of Chicago, but we’re in a similar situation.”

Burke’s order stems from a suit filed Jan. 5 by a coalition of landlords, contractors, and real estate agents, led by the Building Owners and Managers Association, seeking to block the Board of Elections from conducting a vote on Johnson’s plan for a graduated real estate transfer tax on high-end properties. The suit contends the complicated three-part question being posed to voters violates the Illinois Municipal Code and the state constitution, and manipulates voters into approving two tax increases.

Burke sided with the landlords and contractors on Feb. 23, but waited until Monday to issue a pair of orders. She halted voting on the plan but didn’t articulate a full legal rationale for her decision. A separate order denied Chicago’s motion to intervene in the matter.

Johnson’s plan is intended to raise more than $100 million in revenue annually to fund affordable housing and homeless services. The proposal would create a tiered transfer tax structure from the current flat rate of 0.75%. The tiers would begin with a 0.6% rate on properties with a sale price of up to $1 million. A 2% rate would apply to any increment between $1 million and $1.5 million. Portions of real estate sales higher than $1.5 million would be taxed at a 3% rate.