Rahm says no to tax hike on high-end realty sales

Arguing that beleaguered Chicago homeowners are “not an ATM machine,” Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Wednesday shot down efforts to raise Chicago’s real estate transfer tax on high-end homes and property in the city — either to reduce homelessness or replace water-carrying lead-service lines.

With aldermen eyeing the transaction tax as a catch-all solution to an array of problems, Emanuel did his best to stop all of them from jumping on the bandwagon.

Emanuel noted that his pediatrician father led the crusade against lead paint.

“Since I was 4 or 5 years old, this issue has been in my home,” the mayor said.

But, Emanuel said, “I don’t think you should treat the homeowners as an ATM machine. . . . The homeowner should be the last person we should go to for a fee before we try everything else,” the mayor said.

Emanuel was asked whether he believes lead-service lines need to be replaced. He ignored the question. The mayor would only say, “Chicago’s water is safe” and “meets and exceeds federal EPA standards.”

Victims of domestic violence, ID theft could get a break on city debt

Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) introduced an ordinance at Wednesday’s City Council meeting that would exempt victims of domestic violence, identity theft and other hardships from vehicle impoundment and collection costs that are tacked on to city debt — including for parking tickets and city sticker violations. The ordinance would cut in half the fees imposed on impounded vehicles belonging to “survivors of domestic violence, victims of identity theft and qualifying hardships.”