Voters to weigh in on ‘Bring Chicago Home’ ordinance

Unhoused Chicagoans — Salvation Army workers give a homeless man some supplies, including blankets and hand warmers, down on Lower Wacker Drive in February 2021.

Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons

Voters to weigh in on ‘Bring Chicago Home’ ordinance

This spring voters will choose whether or not to approve changes to the real estate transfer tax rate to fund services for Chicago’s unhoused.

Salvation Army workers give a homeless man some supplies, including blankets and hand warmers, down on Lower Wacker Drive in February 2021.

By Landon Jones

Chicago residents will have the chance to approve a city ordinance that would make changes to the real estate transfer tax. The referendum known as Bring Chicago Home — a key part of the mayor’s agenda to fight homelessness — would change the one-time tax from a flat rate to a marginal three-tiered rate that decreases the tax for homes that sell for less than a million dollars and quadruples the current rate for high-end properties worth more than $1.5 million.

Reset speaks with people organizing for and against the referendum about the next step: convincing voters.

GUESTS: Kennedy Bartley, executive director, United Working Families

Electa Bey, housing outreach coordinator, Communities United

Farzin Parang, executive director, Building Owners and Managers Association Chicago