Two races in the Illinois Primary still remain too close to call, with mail-in-ballots set to determine the outcome for both, according to officials.
According to the Chicago Board of Elections, more than 66,000 mail-in-ballots were received Wednesday. However, the number of outstanding mail-in-ballots stood at just over 100,000. The CBOE noted it expects to receive between 70,000 and 80,000 of those back.
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"Per Illinois election code, all late-arriving but properly postmarked (by March 19th) vote-by-mail ballots have a two-week period to be counted – and that would bring us to April 2nd," CBOE director of public information Max Bever said.
Bever noted however that the vast majority of vote-by-mail ballots come back on election day or night, and the immediately Wednesday and Thursday following.
"By the time those are processed and counted into the unofficial results, we may have a much clearer picture by this weekend," Bever said.
According to Bever, processing of mail-in-ballots will continue Thursday, with counting set for Friday.
Local
The CBOE expects to provide an update either Thursday or Friday.
Races that remain too close to call
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Cook County State's Attorney
One day after the Illinois primary election, the race for who will be the Democratic Party's nominee for Cook County State's Attorney remains too close to call.
As of 5 a.m. Wednesday, Eileen O'Neill Burke had a narrow lead over Clayton Harris. With 99% of precincts reporting, they're separated by just over 8,800 votes.
Chicago real estate transfer tax
Chicago's proposed real estate transfer tax, referred to by some as the "mansion tax" or "Bring Chicago Home," has topped races to watch for the 2024 Illinois primary election.
The real estate transfer tax is the tax paid to the city on any property sold. The current rate is a flat rate of $3.75 per every $500 of the price. If passed, the proposal would change the rate to a progressive, or graduated, structure on all properties, residential and commercial, with three tiers.
MORE: Johnson vows not to pump brakes on his agenda after apparent mansion tax failure
It would reduce that rate to $3 of every $500 for properties sold for under $1 million. For sales over $1 million, it would increase the rate to $10 for every $500 of the price between $1 million and $1.5 million. For properties over $1.5 million, the rate would become $15 for every $500 of the price more than $1.5 million.
The revenue raised by the tax increase would be dedicated to efforts to combat homelessness.
