How wealth and race shape who decides property tax referendums
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A new study released Wednesday by the Cook County Treasurer's Office found that wealthier, white voters are deciding the outcome of property tax referendums.
The big picture: "Voter Turnout, Race, Income and the Fate of Property Tax Referendums" was the first study by Treasurer Maria Pappas' office that compared income, race and homeownership status in relation to referendum voter turnout.
- Average turnout last year for tax-related referendums was about 46%.
- But for voters with median household income less than the county median of $81,800, turnout was only 34%. Turnout jumped to nearly 63% for voters with median household incomes over $150,000.
Between the lines: Referendum voting is lower than overall turnout as voters often skip the measures because of lack of information or not being impacted by the outcome.
State of play: Last year, Cook County voters were asked to weigh in on 35 property tax-related referendums, 30 of which were tax increases. Voters approved 26 measures.
- Several asked voters to borrow above state limits to improve parks, schools and a new library, and nearly all of those measures passed.
- Smaller municipalities are limited by state law in how much they can increase property taxes, but voters in south suburban Robbins and Palos and west suburban Riverside passed measures that would allow a hike.
- Voters in suburban Thornton Township voted against raising property taxes to fund mental health care, but Chicago voters approved two new mental health care programs through a 0.025% increase.
Zoom in: One of the most well-known referendums on the primary ballot was Mayor Brandon Johnson's "Bring Chicago Home" initiative, which would have raised transfer taxes on properties that sold for over $1 million to help address homelessness. It failed.
- Wealthier property owners would have been most adversely affected by the measure, and more higher-income voters weighed in during the primary than lower-income voters.
Another case in point: In south suburban Robbins, fewer than 73% of residents are homeowners and the median household income is less than $38,000, compared to over 97% home ownership in North Shore Kenilworth, which has a median household income over $250,000.
- Robbins had one of the lowest turnouts in last year's primary (14%) while Kenilworth had one of the highest (33.5%).
By the numbers: Average voter turnout in majority white taxing districts was 55% in last year's elections, compared to 33% in Black-majority and 29% in Hispanic or Latino.
- Average referendum turnout was about 46%, up from 34% over the previous four years. This jump was despite Cook County last year having its lowest turnout for a presidential election in more than 30 years.
What's next: There's a consolidated election on April 1 with eight property-related referendums on the ballot, including an increase in taxes for mental health services in Palatine and taking on hundreds of millions of dollars in debt in several western suburbs.