Mayor Brandon Johnson rallies supporters of the proposal known as Bring Chicago Home on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. (Heather Cherone / WTTW News)

After 12,634 mail-in ballots were counted by Chicago election officials late Friday, the results were essentially unchanged. Approximately 53% of voters rejected Ballot Question No. 1, better known as Bring Chicago Home, according to unofficial totals.

(WTTW News)

The mayor has touted the proposal as a fulfillment of a promise he made during the 2023 campaign to make Chicago a more equitable place to live by “investing in people” and expanding the city’s economic capacity — without raising taxes on Chicago property owners.

Mayor Brandon Johnson speaks at a news conference Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (WTTW News)

“No one said it was going to be easy,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “I’m very much committed. The fight still goes on. We’re going to keep organizing.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson rallies supporters of the proposal known as Bring Chicago Home on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. (Heather Cherone / WTTW News)

The last time Chicago voters passed a binding referendum that applied to the entire city was 1885, when they voted to create the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, according to city records.

Mayor Brandon Johnson rallies supporters of the proposal known as Bring Chicago Home on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. (Heather Cherone / WTTW News)

With three of the seven justices abstaining, the state’s highest court rejected an appeal from a coalition of real estate and development groups that sued the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners to knock the ballot measure off Tuesday’s ballot.

A homeless encampment in Humboldt Park. (WTTW News)

A coalition of the real estate and development groups asked the Illinois Supreme Court to reverse an appellate court ruling that overturned a decision by Cook County Judge Kathleen Burke that blocked the Chicago Board of Elections from counting votes for and against the proposal, known as Bring Chicago Home.

Mayor Brandon Johnson rallies supporters of the proposal known as Bring Chicago Home on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. (Heather Cherone / WTTW News)

A three-judge panel of the 1st District Appellate Court unanimously overturned the Feb. 23 decision by a Cook County judge that invalidated the binding ballot question known as Bring Chicago Home. The ruling could still be appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.

(WTTW News)

Illinois signed a contract for $640,000 for a report that could help legislators determine the value of the state’s recently defunct private school scholarship program, but a lack of data makes its findings “inconclusive.”

A homeless encampment in Humboldt Park. (WTTW News)

The proposal known as Bring Chicago Home will remain on the ballot, but the results will not be tallied and reported unless the judge’s decision is overturned by a state appeals court.

(WTTW News)

The proposal, now in the hands of the Chicago City Council, would phase out the city’s decades-long reliance on tax-increment financing districts and reshape the way Chicago uses its financial resources to spur redevelopment and eradicate blight.

An Internal Revenue Service 2023 1040 tax form and instructions are shown on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. For many people filing U.S. tax returns — especially those doing it for their first time — it can seem like a daunting task. (AP Photo / Peter Morgan)

If you find the process of filing your taxes too confusing, there are plenty of free resources to help you get through it. Here are some things you need to know. 

(WTTW News)
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Property tax bills for Cook County residents are available online at cookcountytreasurer.com and should hit mailboxes this week.

School hallway file photo. (WTTW News)

The controversial program known as Invest In Kids took donations from people and businesses. It used that money to subsidize student tuition for low-income families at private and trade schools before expiring last year. Critics of the program say it takes away resources from the public schools the majority of state children attend. 

(WTTW News)

Advocates and lawmakers are calling for a permanent child tax credit to help lessen the economic burden on struggling families.

(WTTW News)

Demolishing the record set in each of the past three years, $1.3 billion poured into the city’s 127 TIF funds in 2022, according to a report from Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough.

Mayor Brandon Johnson rallies supporters of the proposal known as Bring Chicago Home on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. (Heather Cherone / WTTW News)

Supporters say the plan would generate approximately $100 million annually to address the root causes of homelessness by building new permanent housing that offers wraparound services.