Sharing and building power is how we address homelessness in Chicago.
In 2017, a group of CCH’s grassroots leaders with lived experience of homelessness first developed the idea of what became Bring Chicago Home. Since that first day, we have collectively fought for the revenue we need to provide the permanent housing and services the people experiencing homelessness in Chicago need.
We spent years building a broad coalition made up of people with lived experience of homelessness, union members, faith leaders, social service providers, community organizations, and grassroots volunteers. The opposition tried to intimidate, misinform, and outspend us, but we always had the will and the power of the people on our side.
The March 19th election results did not end the fight. Instead, they amplify our commitment to finding solutions for housing insecurity and addressing homelessness.
Despite this obvious setback, we continue to stay focused on what matters most: the building of a long-term movement for housing justice, with, for, and by the 68,000 Chicagoans experiencing homelessness in one of the richest cities in the world. We invite all who share this vision to join us for the next chapter. The fight for housing justice continues because housing is a human right.
Since 2018, a coalition of homeless advocacy organizations, labor unions and progressive politicians has been pushing the city to designate a special revenue stream for Chicago’s homeless population. Christening themselves as the Bring Chicago Home campaign, they argue the city must address its dearth of affordable housing by raising the one-time tax on property sales.
On Tuesday evening, polls will close in the March primary election in which Chicago voters will decide the fate of a yearslong grassroots campaign to raise taxes for a fund to address homelessness, also known as Bring Chicago Home. Some Chicagoans have already cast their ballots early.
CCH is a proud member of the Bring Chicago Home coalition.
This upcoming election holds a special significance for Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. In addition to voting on key races at local and national levels, at the end of the ballot, you will find a referendum question – known as Bring Chicago Home or Ballot Question One – which would give the city the authority to restructure the city’s real estate transfer tax (the one-time tax paid when a property is bought) so that anyone buying a property for under $1 million would pay a lesser rate, and anyone buying a property for over $1 million would pay a marginally higher rate. All the new funds from the real estate transfer tax would be legally dedicated toward affordable housing and supportive services to prevent homelessness.
This moment has been years in the making. After years of organizing to create a dedicated stream of funding to address homelessness by amending the real estate transfer tax, the Bring Chicago Home coalition – convened by Chicago Coalition for the Homeless – successfully lobbied City Council to put a referendum question to authorize the restructuring of the real estate transfer tax on the ballot. The ballot question is a necessary legal step to pass an ordinance in City Council to implement Bring Chicago Home’s proposal.
Despite an initial court ruling suppressing the vote on the ballot, on March 6th that decision was overturned. This means that on March 19th – you will have the opportunity to vote on a proposal that would dramatically shift how Chicago addresses its housing and homelessness crisis. You have an opportunity to help Bring Chicago Home by voting YES on Ballot Question One.
Evie, a volunteer with the Bring Chicago Home campaign, helps out at a CCH West Side Canvass on February 3, 2024.
Voting While Experiencing Homelessness
All people experiencing homelessness – whether they are street-based, living in shelters, or doubled-up in the homes of others – have the right to vote. This right is protected by state and federal laws, including the 2013 Illinois Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act.
You can check online to see if you are registered here.
You can register to vote at an Early Voting Site OR on Election Day!
Any Illinois resident ages 18 or older can register to vote on Election Day at the precinct polling place assigned to their residential mailing address. Chicago residents can also register at the Loop Super Site located downtown.
You are required to bring two (2) forms of identification (ID) when registering to vote on-site, including one that shows proof of residence or a mailing address. Acceptable forms of ID include mail postmarked to the applicant; an Illinois driver’s license or state ID card; a municipal ID card (for example, the Chicago CityKey); an employee or student ID; Social Security card; birth certificate; credit card; valid U.S. passport; and lease or rental contract.
Illinois residents who are homeless have the right to vote in all local, state, and national elections, including the upcoming Primary Election on March 19th. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Illinois permits residents to vote early and request to vote by mail without providing an excuse or reason for this request. Also, Illinois residents can vote on Election Day even if they are not yet registered to vote.
As one form of ID, a person experiencing homelessness can provide a letter from a drop-in center, shelter, or the person in whose home they are living doubled-up. The letter must confirm that the named person has permission to use the address to register to vote.
To register to vote, you must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old on or before Election Day, and not claim the right to vote elsewhere.
You cannot vote if you are currently incarcerated for a conviction. But, if you are in pre-trial detention and have not been convicted, you remain eligible to vote. Learn more about how to vote in pre-trial detention.
When is ID needed and not needed to vote?
Identification is not necessary if the person experiencing homelessness has already registered to vote at the polling place; the signature they provide matches the one on file; and an election judge does not challenge the person’s right to vote.
But identification is necessary in these situations:
They registered by mail and did not include the Illinois ID/driver’s license number or Social Security number.
An election judge challenges the person’s right to vote. Please note: A common reason for challenging a person’s right to vote occurs after the Board of Elections has sent mail to verify a voter’s mailing address, but the mail was returned.
The individual is registering to vote on-site (see above)
If a voter needs to show ID but is unable to do so, they may cast a provisional ballot. For that provisional ballot to be counted, the voter must present ID within seven (7) days of the election to the Board of Elections.
Voting after a recent move, whether homeless or housed
If you moved within the same precinct within 27 days of the election, you can vote a full ballot by signing an affidavit.
If you moved outside of your precinct more than 30 days before the election and did not register in your new precinct, you may grace-period update your registration through Election Day, and then grace-period vote.
If you moved outside of your precinct less than 30 days before the election, but still live in Illinois and did not transfer your registration, you may grace-period update your registration to your new address through Election Day and grace-period vote. Or, you can vote a full ballot in your old polling place after completing an affidavit.
For Election Day assistance, call these legal help desks:
Chicago Board of Elections, (312) 269-7870
Cook County Clerk Karen A. Yarbrough office, (312) 603-0236
Illinois State Board of Elections has phone numbers in Chicago at (312) 814-6440, and in Springfield at (217) 782-4141. Operators will be standing by until 11 p.m. in Chicago and until 12 midnight in Springfield.
Bring Chicago Home coalition members rally outside Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s home on December 19, 2022.
By Niya K. Kelly, Director of State Legislative Policy, Equity and Transformation
A WBEZ analysis of Zillow rental data showed the average rent in Cook County rose by 25% from January 2021 to March 2023 — four times more than the 6% increase during an equivalent length of time before the pandemic. An inadequate supply of housing, rising rents and more evictions all contribute to the homelessness crisis.
The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless routinely reminds us of the tens of thousands of people who simply can’t afford what it costs in Chicago to put a roof over their heads — so they double-up with others. It’s not about drug abuse, mental illness or similar issues that make some people less sympathetic to needs of the unhoused.
On March 19, Chicagoans will vote on the Bring Chicago Home proposal to restructure the Real Estate Transfer Tax to create a dedicated revenue stream for Chicagoans experiencing homelessness. CCH is a proud coalition member of Bring Chicago Home.
By Chuck Goudie and Barb Markoff, Christine Tressel, Tom Jones, Maggie Green and Adriana Aguilar on Thursday, February 15, 2024
A growing number of people are living in Chicago without stable housing. An estimated 68,000 Chicagoans are experiencing homelessness according to a new report. That’s equal the population of Skokie.
This recent report from the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless estimates more than 68,000 are without stable housing here, an increase of 4.5% from the year before.
The city’s official homelessness count only includes people living in shelters or on the streets.
“How do you generate the revenue that you need in order to meet some of these needs that continue to exist?” said U.S. Rep. Davis.
The Bring Chicago Home initiative aims to do just that. If passed next month by voters, the Real Estate Transfer Tax would be raised for high-end properties to create an affordable housing fund for the homeless.
CCH is proud to be a coalition supporter of Bring Chicago Home.
The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners decided Tuesday it will appeal a ruling invalidating a referendum question known as Bring Chicago Home. The proposal is one of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s top priorities and has been a longtime goal of progressive organizers.
“People can still go out and vote for the referendum. The referendum is still on the ballot. No one should stop voting for the referendum just because of (the judge’s) order,” said Ed Mullen, an election attorney representing the Bring Chicago Home campaign.
In the first nine months of 2023, outreach workers had more than 5,000 interactions with people using CTA trains as shelter. Many interactions ended with people indicating they didn’t want to talk further.
The program “got the ball rolling in the right direction,” said Ali Simmons, a senior case and outreach worker in the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless’ Law Project.
But he cautioned that addressing homelessness more broadly is “definitely going to take a lot more outreach, primarily because of the … magnitude of the problem.” The nonprofit Chicago Coalition for the Homeless puts the number over 68,000. That includes people who are “doubled up,” living in the homes of family or friends.
Simmons’ organization, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, is leading the effort to pass the ballot initiative Bring Chicago Home. Without more funds dedicated to addressing homelessness, “it’s like we’re going through the same thing each and every year,” Simmons said.
After examining the serious harms and civil rights threats posed by CFNOs, I have argued that state governments need to be a part of the solution. Responding to these ordinances with a city-by-city approach leaves too many tenants vulnerable. Each challenge may require years of investigation, advocacy and litigation. By the time the issues are addressed in one community, similar problems have arisen in neighboring communities that have passed their own version of a CFNO. One state-level advocate describes the effort to respond to harmful CFNOs on tenants in this way as like playing “Whac-a-Mole.”
States are particularly well situated to employ their broad legislative and enforcement powers to combat the harms caused by CFNOs. California recently enacted a law aimed at doing just that.
Illinois now has the chance to do the same by passing the Community Safety through Stable Homes Act. This bill is a critical step toward protecting tenants in our state who have suffered the effects of these dangerous ordinances for too long.
Now is the time for the Illinois legislature to act — before more harm is caused to tenants and property owners throughout the state.
The Chicago Coalition for the Homeless estimates more than 68,000 people in Chicago are experiencing homelessness. That higher number includes people who are doubled up, or temporarily living in someone else’s home, something the federal data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development does not include. Chicago voters are gearing up for a momentous decision on how to address homeless. On March 19, a question will be on the ballot asking whether to increase taxes on sales of high-end homes and commercial properties to help fund homelessness prevention.
“Not only are the homeless disproportionately people of color, but there are 20,000 CPS students impacted by homelessness,” says Carol Sharp, president and CEO of The Night Ministry. “Using that real estate transfer tax as an option to ensure that those who are purchasing homes over a million dollars are able to contribute to building a budget around solving homelessness is vitally important.”
CCH is a proud coalition supporter of Bring Chicago Home.
On March 15, Chicago voters will have their say on a referendum that would raise the one-time transfer tax on properties over $1 million to fund homelessness prevention in the city. It’s called the Bring Chicago Home referendum. Doug Schenkelberg, the executive director of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, and Tynetta Hill-Muhammad, an organizer for the bring Chicago Home Ordinance, joined the WGN Evening News to talk more about it.
