Real estate appeals to Illinois Supreme Court in transfer tax fight
Real estate trade groups filed an appeal Monday to the Illinois Supreme Court asking it to weigh in on a lawsuit that seeks to invalidate Mayor Brandon Johnson’s transfer tax referendum.
The appeal to the state’s highest court follows the trade groups winning a ruling in Cook County court that would have suppressed votes on the transfer tax increase ballot question for the March 19 election. But that decision was overturned earlier this month, when Illinois Appellate Court Justice Raymond Mitchell said the trade groups’ complaint was considered “prematurely” and should be litigated if the referendum becomes law.
“The Appellate Court’s opinion implies that an illegal referendum cannot be challenged until after an election — after voters have already been harmed,” Farzin Parang, head of the lead plaintiff Building Owners and Managers Association, said in a statement. “Given the importance of this topic, we will ask the Illinois Supreme Court to hear an appeal.”
The latest appeal adds another chapter to the legal battle, and could necessitate a quick decision as the election wraps up next week. So far, it’s unknown whether the high court will take up the case and issue its own opinion or allow the appellate court ruling to stand.
“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,” Maxica Williams, Board President of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, which supports the referendum, said Monday. “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.”
If the referendum survives the court challenge, gets passed by voters and enacted by Chicago City Council, it’s aimed at helping combat homelessness in the city. Meanwhile, both campaigns for and against the measure are carrying on while the courtroom fights play out.
The trade groups led by Parang’s organization filed a complaint against the Chicago Board of Elections in early January claiming that the city’s referendum asking voters to hike the one-time tax on property sales of $1 million or more violated the Illinois Constitution and Illinois Municipal Code. Their arguments hung on the fact that the ballot measure isn’t legal to pose to voters as written because it also asks to decrease taxes on property sales of less than $1 million at the same time.
Cook County Judge Kathleen Burke ruled in favor of the trade groups in a Feb. 23 hearing. She granted their request for a judgment to suppress votes on the measure and denied a petition filed by the Board of Elections to have the case dismissed. She also denied a request by the city of Chicago to intervene in the case on the grounds that the trade groups had filed suit against the wrong entity, and the city should have a say in the fight.
The city and the Chicago Board of Elections successfully appealed those rulings, and received an opinion last week that overturned Burke’s decision. The opinion, written by Mitchell, remanded the case back to the Cook County court with instructions to dismiss it because the judge has no jurisdiction to invalidate the ballot question at this point.
Justices Freddrenna M. Lyle and David R. Navarro concurred with the reversal, meaning votes on the ballot question will be counted if the current ruling stands.
Mitchell also opined that the city does have a “direct and substantial interest” in the case and would be “unfairly prejudiced” by the circuit court’s judgment if not allowed to participate, according to the opinion. Mitchell treated the city as if it were an official party to the lawsuit in weighing the case, but it is not yet clear whether the Supreme Court would do the same if it takes the case.
“The referendum question is misleading and manipulative, and we believe it is important to see this through,” Parang said Monday.