Rahm Emanuel’s residency controversy on Dipity.
Just days before voters can begin casting ballots for the next mayor of Chicago, an appellate court ruled the leading candidate ineligible to run in a surprising decision Monday.
The Illinois Appellate Court ruled Rahm Emanuel, who earned a master’s degree from the School of Communication in 1985, must be removed from the ballot because he does not meet the residency requirement to run for the office. The ruling reversed the decisions of both the Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago and a Cook County judge’s approval of Emanuel’s candidacy in the Feb. 22 election.
In a news conference Monday, Emanuel, the former Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama, told reporters he and his lawyers will appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court to challenge the ruling.
“I have no doubt that we will, in the end, prevail in this effort,” Emanuel said. “I do believe that the people of the city of Chicago deserve the right to make a decision of who they want to be their next mayor.”
Emanuel’s residency has been a point of contention since he first made the decision to run last year. In December, he sat through more than 12 hours of questioning by the Board of Election to address the challenges. According to state law, a candidate must reside in a municipality for at least one year prior to a municipal election to be able to run in it.
Obama appointed Emanuel Chief of Staff in January 2009. He and his family lived in Washington, D.C., while they leased their Chicago house on 4228 N. Hermitage Ave.
In October 2010, he resigned from his position as Chief of Staff to run for the mayor of Chicago, to replace retiring Mayor Richard Daley. Though he moved back to Chicago less than a year before the elections, Cook County Judge Mark Ballard ruled earlier this month that an exemption in the Election Code suggested Emanuel never lost his residency status by leaving for the Chief of Staff post.
Emanuel reiterated this in a news conference Monday afternoon.
“I still own a home here, and I look forward to moving into it one day, ” he said. “I still vote from here and pay property taxes here.”
But the appellate court ruled Monday the exemption only applies to voters and not candidates. The court also sought to make the distinction between being a “resident” and to “reside in,” arguing that while Emanuel has been a legal resident, the municipal code calls for one to physically live in the municipality for one year prior to the election.
Northwestern student Marshall Cohen, who works as a media intern for the Emanuel campaign, said he was surprised by the ruling and disagrees strongly.
“Rahm Emanuel was in Washington, D.C., serving the President of the United States and serving the country,” the Medill freshman said. “He should not be penalized for serving his country.”
Even Emanuel’s mayoral opponents were surprised by the decision. Former Chicago Board of Education President Gery Chico told ABC Chicago in an interview that he was just “as surprised as anybody” about the ruling.
Former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun , a mayoral candidate who has been trailing behind Emanuel in the polls, said the decision was a “major milestone” for her campaign.
“There is no way I will second guess the court of appeals of our state,” she told reporters in a news conference. “I’m a great believer in the rule of law, and the court has spoken.”
Recent polls show 44 percent of voters supporting Emanuel, a strong lead over Braun’s 21 percent and Chico’s 16 percent. Emanuel has also been leading in campaign fundraising, with $11.7 million to Braun’s almost $450,000 and Chico’s $2.3 million.
The dissenting vote by Appellate Judge Bertina Lampkin allowed for the possibility of appeal. Emanuel, however, needs four of the seven Illinois Supreme Court justices to agree to hear the case in order for the decision to be reviewed. But with early voting set to begin Monday, the Emanuel campaign is running out of time. The Board of Election already began printing ballots without Emanuel’s name Monday night.
Meanwhile, Emanuel’s campaign offices were busy calling voters to attend an emergency rally at the Board of Elections on Monday afternoon. For campaign workers like Cohen, they hope the strong support will help Emanuel stay on the ballot.
“This is about the people of Chicago losing the opportunity to have a strong mayor in Rahm Emanuel,” Cohen said.
