Chicago Sun-Times: ‘Bring Chicago Home’ referendum to reduce homelessness through tax on high-end property sales clears City Council

Posted on by Ella Weaver
Bring Chicago Home supporters gather in City Hall and hold banners holding the cause's name.

By Fran Spielman (Chicago Sun-Times), November 7, 2023

It’s now up to Chicago voters to decide whether to authorize the City Council to raise the real estate transfer tax on high-end property sales to confront the burgeoning problem of homelessness.

The binding referendum known as “Bring Chicago Home” will appear on the March ballot, thanks to Tuesday’s 32-to-17 Council vote.

Johnson said the progressive movement behind Bring Chicago Home is “bigger than an office.”

“We’re gonna knock doors. We’re gonna talk to people. We’re gonna hold community meetings. And we’re gonna tell the story that one in four Black children who experience homelessness — that ain’t right. … We’re gonna right the wrong,” the mayor said.

Chicago Coalition for the Homeless is a proud coalition member of Bring Chicago Home.

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CBS: Aldermen advance plan to increase Chicago tax on sales of million-dollar homes to fight homelessness

Posted on by Ella Weaver
Mayor Brandon Johnson and other BCH supporters celebrate together inside Chicago City Hall.

By Todd Feurer, October 31, 2023

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to raise the city’s tax on the sales of million-dollar properties in Chicago to fund efforts to fight homelessness has cleared its first major legislative hurdle, setting up a vote by the City Council to ask voters next March to approve the so-called “Bring Chicago Home” plan

Chicago Coalition for the Homeless is a proud member of the Bring Chicago Home coalition.

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ABC7: Chicago City Council approves putting Bring Chicago Home referendum on March 2024 ballot

Posted on by Ella Weaver
Bring Chicago Home campaign supporters hold a banner reading "Bring Chicago Home" in front of a crowd.

By Karen Jordan (ABC7), November 7, 2023

Tuesday, the Chicago City Council approved a binding referendum, called Bring Chicago Home, which will appear on the March 2024 ballot. Voters will decide whether to authorize city council members to raise the real estate transfer tax on high-end property sales to fight homelessness. The referendum was championed by North Side 49th Ward Ald. Maria Hadden.

“We really rely on federal support and funding, things that come direct from federal government or the state. It’s been woefully insufficient for years,” she said.

The referendum pits the real estate industry against those who say an increase to the city’s real estate transfer tax is the best way to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into programs to address homelessness.

Chicago Coalition for the Homeless is a proud BCH coalition member.

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Chicago City Council approves 2024 budget with marginal increases to tackle homelessness crisis 

Posted on by Ella Weaver
Bring Chicago Home campaign supporters hold a banner reading "Bring Chicago Home" in front of a crowd.

By Sam Paler-Ponce 

November 20, 2023 

Chicago’s City Council greenlit the 2024 budget, allocating additional resources to respond to the city’s growing homelessness crisis. While the approved budget reveals targeted increases in critical services, much more is needed than these small increases subject to annual appropriations.

Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) estimates 68,440 Chicagoans experiencing homelessness at the beginning of 2022, the most recent data available. This reflects a 2,829-person increase from the previous year—up 4.30 percent. This estimate is inclusive of more than 44,000 Chicagoans doubling up. 

While we are happy to see that some line items are growing—by about 15-percent in total, or a $7 million increase—much more is needed than these small incremental increases subject to annual appropriations. Let’s dive into the key aspects of this budget and understand where the city’s resources are allocated. 

Continue reading Chicago City Council approves 2024 budget with marginal increases to tackle homelessness crisis 

PBS: Why this widespread form of homelessness is often overlooked and unsupported

Posted on by Ella Weaver
Latoya Woffard, a woman in a black dress, leans against a planter.

By Hannah Grabenstein (PBS) November 20, 2023

Imagine a person experiencing homelessness. You might picture someone sleeping in an overnight shelter or living in a tent encampment in an urban area. That image isn’t wrong, but that common perception overlooks a less visible, potentially larger group, advocates and researchers say. People experiencing “doubled-up” homelessness live in temporary situations in the homes of friends or family when they would otherwise choose not to. In fact, the vast majority of schoolchildren experiencing homelessness are in doubled-up arrangements.

People living doubled-up often move between houses frequently and could be asked to leave at any moment, said Julie Dworkin, who until recently served as director of policy at Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. That challenges the notion that people experiencing literal homelessness are more vulnerable than people living doubled-up, she said.

Experts at Chicago Coalition for the Homeless helped write a new ordinance that will expand Chicago’s definition of homelessness to include people living doubled-up, people being released from prison, and people leaving rehab or mental health facilities. Funding will come from a proposed real estate tax increase, which would change the city’s flat tax rate to a graduated one, with the sale of buildings over $1 million taxed higher.

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Tribune: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s tax increase for homeless services will head to voters

Posted on by Ella Weaver
Mayor Brandon Johnson and other BCH supporters celebrate together inside Chicago City Hall.

By Alice Yin and A.D. Quig (Tribune), November 7, 2023

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to ask voters about raising the real estate transfer tax to combat homelessness cleared the City Council on Tuesday, as aldermen placed the referendum on the March 2024 ballot and advanced a key campaign promise of the progressive mayor.

In a 32-17 vote, aldermen approved the “Bring Chicago Home” measure to create a citywide referendum on implementing a tiered tax rate on all property sales, which advocates have said is a critical strategy to generate much-needed revenue for the city’s homeless population.

Chicago Coalition for the Homeless is a proud coalition member of Bring Chicago Home.

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Tribune: Homeless Chicagoans also living at police stations with migrants

Posted on by Ella Weaver
A mother holds her toddler child in the police station, who puts his hand in her mouth.

By Caroline Kubansky, November 5, 2023

It is unclear how many homeless U.S. citizens like the Wilsons are staying among the nearly 2,800 migrants awaiting shelter placement in Chicago police stations. A spokesperson for the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communication said it only tracks the number of asylum-seekers, and officials with the Department of Family and Support Services did not respond to a request for comment. The Chicago Police Department said they do not track how many U.S. citizens

Police stations, like hospital emergency rooms, have long been entry points for Chicagoans in need of social services. According to a report from the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, an estimated 65,611 people experienced homelessness in Chicago in 2020, an estimate different from that offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development because it takes into account people living doubled up or temporarily staying with others.

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WTTW – New Reports Examine the Housing-First Approach to Addressing Homelessness

Posted on by Vanessa Álvarez

By Blair Paddock , October 17, 2023

The number is tens of thousands of people higher than the city’s annual point-in-time count because of how the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless defines homelessness, said Julie Dworkin, director of policy for the organization.

For example, the 2021 point-in-time estimate from the city was 4,447 people experiencing homelessness. That figure doesn’t include doubling-up in shared living arrangements, Dworkin said. However, doubling-up is the way most people experience homelessness in Chicago, according to the report.

WTTW- Proposal to Hike Taxes on Sales of Million-Dollar Homes to Fight Homelessness Clears Key Hurdle

Posted on by Vanessa Álvarez

An August report from the Chicago Coalition of the Homeless, a member of the coalition that crafted the Bring Chicago Home proposal, found that the number of Chicagoans who do not have a permanent home grew 4% between 2020 and 2021 to 68,440 people.

More than 80% of unhoused Chicagoans are Black or Latino, with Black Chicagoans making up 53% of those who are unhoused in Chicago, according to the coalition.