CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The real estate industry has now filed an appeal of the decision that officially cleared the "Bring Chicago Home" referendum on next week's ballot. Meanwhile the barrage of advertising continues.
The ballot question asks if Chicago should raise the Real Estate Transfer Tax on high-end properties to raised money to house and help the homeless.
Ads by the backers play up the fight against homelessness while advertising from the industry focuses on Mayor Brandon Johnson and taxes.
"The real estate lobby continues its efforts to silence Chicago voters on a popular referendum to address a housing crisis they have created and benefit from all while 68,000 people have no stable place to stay, " said Maxica Williams, Chair of the End Homelessness Ballot Initiative Committee and Board President of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.
"The First District Appellate Court was unanimous in saying the matter of this referendum should be entrusted to the people of Chicago, who have a right to a legislative process free of interference, and we wholeheartedly agree."
Regardless of any court ruling, the question is on the ballot. The issue is whether the votes will be counted.
Farzin Parang, the head of Chicago's Building Owners and Managers Association said in a statement the Bring Chicago Home referendum is ''misleading and manipulative,'' so his group and others are appealing the case to the state Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, they say this tax will hurt everyone from renters to homeowners.
"If passed, this referendum would create a backdoor property tax for everyone in Chicago," Parang added.
"It would give the City hundreds of millions of dollars in blank checks with no actual plan to support the homeless and no accountability."
But, advocacy groups say the tax won't hit everyone. It affects sales of property worth a million dollars or more, and the proceeds will provide money for the unhoused.
A Cook Court appeals court ruled the question should stay on the ballot. If the decision is overturned by the high court, next week's votes wouldn't be counted.
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