Phillip Capper from Wellington, New Zealand, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, Cropped by Resist the Mainstream

Chicago residents voted on Tuesday to reject a referendum that proposed increasing taxes on high-value real estate transactions to fund homeless services.

The referendum, supported by Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson, aimed to elevate transfer taxes on properties valued over $1 million, an initiative projected to generate about $100 million a year.

Despite the purported intentions behind the “Bring Chicago Home” tax, 53.2% of voters rejected the proposal, with only 46.8% in favor, as reported by the Chicago Tribune and confirmed by The Associated Press.

While the vote occurred on Tuesday, the results were not called until Friday night by the Associated Press, which declared that the measure had been defeated by a margin of 53.2% against and 46.8% in favor.

The current tax system in Chicago imposes a flat rate of 0.75% on property sales, a figure that would have been reduced to 0.6% for homes under $1 million under the rejected proposal. For homes valued between $1 million and $1.5 million, the rate would have increased to 2%, and any value above $1.5 million would have been taxed at 3%.

The revenue from this tax was intended to support services for the city's approximately 68,000 homeless individuals, including mental health care.

Critics of the proposal argued that it would negatively impact commercial building owners and businesses still recovering from the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. They pointed to the broader struggles within the commercial real estate sector, exacerbated by a shift towards remote work and high-interest rates, which have left developers facing significant financial challenges.

Furthermore, Chicago's status as a sanctuary city has brought an influx of migrants, adding strain to the city's housing and social services. As of the report, approximately 37,100 migrants have arrived in Chicago since 2022, prompting the city to take measures, including evicting thousands from city and state shelters.