Eileen O'Neill Burke files her candidacy for Cook County State's Attorney in December 2023. [Michael McDevitt/The Daily Line]

After ten days of vote tabulation, former Illinois Appellate Court Justice Eileen O’Neill Burke declared victory in the Democratic primary for Cook County State’s Attorney late Friday afternoon with a razor-thin margin over her opponent, former prosecutor and University of Chicago lecturer Clayton Harris III, who conceded after the Associated Press called the race.

She will face former Chicago Ald. Bob Fioretti, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary, and Libertarian candidate Andrew Charles Kopinski this November. She is favored to win in the county that typically sides with Democrats.

Bring Chicago Home supporters gather outside the Illinois Appellate Court on March 1. [Michael McDevitt/The Daily Line]

The future of a proposal to raise Chicago’s real estate transfer tax on property sales over $1 million, decrease it for sales under $1 million and use the new tax revenue to fund services and housing to reduce homelessness did not look promising Tuesday night as favorable votes for the ballot question known as Bring Chicago Home trailed opposition votes.

With 97 percent of precincts reporting Tuesday night, 53.8 percent of voters had voted against the ballot question.

Eileen O'Neill Burke and Clayton Harris III are competing for the Democratic nomination for Cook County State's Attorney. [Burke photo: Michael McDevitt, Harris photo from campaign social media]

The Democratic primary race for Cook County State’s Attorney remained too close to call Tuesday night, though Eileen O’Neill Burke led party-backed candidate Clayton Harris III with roughly 51 percent of the vote to Harris’ more than 48.9 percent as of 11 p.m.

If her lead continues as remaining mail-in votes in Chicago and the suburbs are counted, then O’Neill Burke will compete this fall to succeed outgoing State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, whose leadership O’Neill Burke has criticized.

City Hall is pictured in a file photo. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The City Council Committee on Budget and Government Operations will meet Tuesday and consider the appointment of a new fleet and facility management commissioner, an ordinance to require City Council consent for the appointment of the public health commissioner and an ordinance to establish hiring preferences for residents from disadvantaged areas. 

The budget committee will meet at 11 a.m. in council chambers.

Ald. Maria Hadden, attorney Ed Mullen and Bring Chicago Home advocates gather in front of the Illinois Appellate Court on March 1, 2024. [Michael McDevitt/The Daily Line]

The Illinois Appellate Court on Wednesday reversed a lower court’s ruling to suppress the outcome of the city’s referendum to change the real estate transfer tax structure from a flat rate to a graduated rate, allowing the results of the measure known as Bring Chicago Home to be counted. 

The appeals court reversed the previous ruling largely on the grounds that the lawsuit was “premature” and that the referendum is a protected part of the city’s legislative process, since the city must receive voter approval before it is allowed to raise the transfer tax.

“The holding of an election for the purpose of passing a referendum to empower a municipality to adopt an ordinance is a step in the legislative process of the enactment of that ordinance,” the appeals court said in a unanimous judgment and opinion delivered by Judge Raymond Mitchell. “Courts do not, and cannot, interfere with the legislative process.”

City Hall is pictured in this file photo

Cook County Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Burke did not elaborate on her reasoning for invalidating the Bring Chicago Home referendum in a Friday ruling. In a court order received Monday by the Chicago Board of Elections, the defendant in the lawsuit against the referendum, Burke wrote that she ruled against the legality of the ballot question to raise the transfer tax on high-end property sales “for the reasons stated in open court and on the record.” 

The court order confirms that the Bring Chicago Home referendum (R2023-0004166) will remain on the primary election ballot but will not be countable or reportable unless an appeals court reverses the decision. The city filed a notice of appeal on Monday.