{"id":19084,"date":"2024-05-03T14:54:58","date_gmt":"2024-05-03T14:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/?p=19084"},"modified":"2024-05-03T14:58:19","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T14:58:19","slug":"santa-fe-realtors-promote-diverse-housing-options-in-housing-strapped-region-2-3-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-3-3-2-3-2-2-2-2-2-2-4-2-4-2-2-3-2-4-2-2-3-2-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-3-2-2-2-3-2-3-2-2-2-2-3-3-2-2-2-3-2-2-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/homepage\/success-story\/ir-im0524","title":{"rendered":"Illinois REALTORS\u00ae and the Chicago Association of REALTORS\u00ae Conduct Campaign to Defeat Transfer Tax Referendum"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Seeking revenue to address the city\u2019s homeless crisis, the Chicago City Council placed a bold referendum on its March 2024 ballot.\u00a0 Called \u201cBring Chicago Home,\u201d it would have increased the transfer tax on homes selling for more than $1 million \u2013 by up to 300%.\u00a0 Illinois REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> and the Chicago Association of REALTORS\u00ae <\/sup>aggressively fought the issue before it made it to the ballot, and its addition triggered the state association\u2019s most robust Issues Mobilization effort to date.\u00a0 The multi-faceted campaign prevailed in the end, with help from the REALTOR\u00ae<\/sup> Party.<\/p>\n

Gideon Blustein, Illinois REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup>\u2019 Senior Director of Advocacy Programs, explains that the proposed transfer tax increase threatened to make Chicago\u2019s housing, including rental housing, more expensive, upsetting the already struggling real estate market and derailing the local economy.\u00a0 \u00a0Even so, he knew that opposing the referendum was going to be an uphill battle with the Chicago electorate, so he reached out to a colleague in Los Angeles who offered him guidance based on recent experience.\u00a0 \u201cThe three key things he advised were getting out early and defining how the issue would affect voters; collaborating with fellow stakeholders; and engaging the members.\u00a0 We did all of this, and it was great advice,\u201d says Blustein.<\/p>\n

Through early polling and focus group research, the REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> determined the message that resonated with voters explained how the referendum would increase property taxes on middle class families.\u00a0 They capitalized on that message by front-loading the campaign with five direct mail pieces to a target audience deemed most likely to be convinced, putting the opposition on their back foot, says Blustein: \u201cThey were mounting an aggressive door-knocking campaign, but our mailers had beat them to it: when people answered, the first question was, \u2018Why would I vote for this?\u2019\u00a0 It put our adversaries on the defensive, which was just where we wanted them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polling also revealed that voters had the heart and the will to do something that would help the unhoused, but they recognized that even the short-term transfer tax reduction for less expensive homes promised by the referendum would eventually be increased.\u00a0 Voters were skeptical, too, about how the tax revenue would be spent to alleviate homelessness, says Blustein.\u00a0 \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a clearly articulated plan.\u00a0 This lack of voter trust, combined with a deep concern about an increased cost of living, gave the campaign a powerful one-two punch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paid media, including a final week of advertising on broadcast television, worked hand-in-hand with a \u201cGet Out The Vote\u201d effort supported by a dedicated website, emails and phone calls.\u00a0 Although the ballot date was in mid-March, Blustein says he didn\u2019t fully exhale until April 1, when the count was finalized, because Illinois \u2013 and Chicago in particular \u2013 has such a strong vote-by-mail program.\u00a0 In the end, the referendum was voted down by 53%.<\/p>\n

The REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> are relieved by the victory, but it is not a cause for celebration, notes Blustein. \u201cIt was just the wrong policy, and having blocked it, there\u2019s still lots of work to be done:\u00a0 we need to get people housed and create more housing stock.\u201d \u00a0Looking ahead, he says, the REALTORS\u00ae <\/sup>will be working with the City Council to find ways to increase housing inventory at all price points.<\/p>\n

To learn more about how the REALTORS\u00ae<\/sup> are working to ensure that housing policy protects property owners and supports efforts to increase housing stock at all levels, contact Gideon Blustein, Senior Director of Advocacy Programs, gblustein@illinoisrealtors.org<\/a> or 217.529.2600.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With help from an Issues Mobilization Grant from the REALTOR\u00ae Party, Illinois REALTORS\u00ae and the Chicago Association of REALTORS\u00ae fought a misguided referendum seeking to use an increase in real estate transfer taxes to fight homelessness. Understanding that the proposal would be detrimental to the local economy, the REALTORS\u00ae launched an energetic effort to persuade voters to oppose it at the ballot box.","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19122,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,33,296],"tags":[1277,414,575,1826],"class_list":["post-19084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-about-us","category-success-stories","category-success-story","tag-illinois-realtors","tag-issues-mobilization","tag-issues-mobilization-grant","tag-transfer-taxes"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/realtorparty.realtor\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}