On Friday, February 23, a Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of a lawsuit that requested the Bring Chicago Home transfer tax increase question to be removed from the primary ballot.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claimed the language included on the ballot was considered illegal by asking voters to approve a tax decrease while also asking for two other increases in the same question. Additionally, they argued the City Council could have approved the decrease without voter approval.
Judge Kathleen Burke sided with and granted relief for the plaintiffs Friday, and Monday entered a court order, which directs the Board of Elections to NOT count the votes cast for this ballot question. Burke also ruled that the City could not intervene as an interested party in the case.
WHAT THE RULING MEANS & WHAT’S NEXT
Both the Board of Elections and the City will appeal these decisions – the Board will appeal its status as the correct party to the lawsuit, and the City will appeal the denial of its attempt to intervene.
Based on the current ruling, the question will remain on the March ballot but the Board of Elections will not count the votes cast for the ballot question. However, in the event that an appeals court reverses this decision, the votes will be counted, so we encourage you to still cast your vote on the question.
To learn more about the transfer tax issue click here.
You can contact Adriann Murawski or Tom Benedetto with any questions.