80% of Chicago Voters Support Taxing Millionaires

Nearly 80% of Chicago voters sent a blunt message to Springfield on Tuesday: tax the wealthy. The nonbinding referendum, which asked whether the Illinois General Assembly should impose a 3% surtax on residents earning $1 million or more annually, passed with overwhelming support in the city, WTTW News reported. More than 71% of voters in suburban Cook County agreed, according to unofficial results from the Cook County Clerk’s office.

The vote arrives just months before Democratic lawmakers return to Springfield in January with expanded supermajorities in both chambers, and after the City Council blocked Mayor Brandon Johnson’s push to ask Chicago voters a similar question. When moderate and conservative alderpeople blocked Johnson’s push to place a similar question on the ballot, the Cook County Board of Commissioners stepped in and added it to every ballot countywide. State lawmakers had declined in June to give voters that chance, much to Johnson’s frustration.

Chicago voters will weigh questions on ‘Millionaires Tax,' gunshot detection tech

A Mandate Johnson Couldn’t Get at City Hall

Johnson has repeatedly argued that Chicago’s wealthiest residents must pay their “fair share,” while opponents warn the surtax would hurt small businesses and the state’s economy. The referendum results suggest voters in his own city side with him on the principle, even if the General Assembly retains the final say. Because the question is advisory only, the 3% surtax will not take effect automatically; it requires legislation.

The same ballot delivered a second, sharper rebuke to the mayor on policing technology. More than 72% of voters urged Johnson to replace the city’s controversial gunshot detection system, even as he announced two weeks ago that officials would begin testing a new system in six South and West side police districts. Johnson’s proposed spending plan earmarks $2.24 billion for the Chicago Police Department, including $5 million for “software maintenance and licensing” that could fund such technology.

Chicago voters weigh in on ballot questions on millionaires' tax, gunshot detection tech

Cities Demand Federal Reimbursement for Raids

Voters also weighed in on the Trump administration’s presence in the city. Nearly 85% urged Chicago officials to “pursue all lawful means” to make the federal government pay for the cost of immigration raids known as “Operation Midway Blitz.” And nearly 68% of voters backed creating a permanent home for festivals and other large events.

What Happens in January

The political arithmetic shifts when lawmakers convene in January at the start of Gov. JB Pritzker’s third term. Democrats will hold expanded supermajorities in both the Illinois House and Senate, according to unofficial results, giving them the votes to advance the millionaires’ tax if they choose. Nearly 80% of Chicago voters urged state lawmakers to impose the tax, while opponents warn it will hurt small businesses and the state’s economy. Representatives of Johnson did not immediately respond to questions about whether the gunshot detection pilot had begun as scheduled.