Chicago 'mansion' tax to fund homeless services stuck in legal limbo while on the ballot

An unusual legal challenge may upend the future of a Chicago ballot measure that would hike a real estate tax on high-end properties sales to pay for services for homeless people. Early voting has already started for the March 19 Illinois primary as the case makes its way through the courts. The referendum asks voters in the nation’s third-largest city to support an increase on the real estate transfer tax on properties over $1 million. If it survives a legal challenge, the change is expected to generate about $100 million a year to help pay for housing and mental health care, among other things.