CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Months after a City Council hearing on the Bring Chicago Home proposal failed to reach a quorum, advocates for the measure held their own “people’s hearing” Sunday afternoon.
The group’s proposal would raise the real estate transfer tax by 1.9% on homes sold for more than $1 million to pay for housing, job training, mental health support and other services for the city’s homeless population, which members estimated will hit 12,000 families in the next decade.
“The housing and services model has demonstrated that it works, is critical, and ensures people who get housed, stay housed,” officials wrote.
Sunday’s hearing came as the race for Chicago mayor, as well as several aldermanic races, remain undetermined, and coalition officials said they hoped to highlight the need for elected leaders “to tackle this issue head-on.”
The coalition’s efforts to get this measure passed in Chicago dates back to 2018, while former Mayor Rahm Emanuel was still in office.
Over the past two years, coalition leaders estimated that the City has missed out on over $300 million in additional revenue due to the lack of action on the Bring Home Chicago proposal.
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