Illinois Appellate Court Action May Keep Rahm Emanuel Off Chicago Ballot

Update Jan 27, 2011 - 6:12 PM: The Illinois Supreme Court ruled today that former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel meets the residency requirements to run for Chicago mayor, overturning a lower court ruling and re-installing him as the race's frontrunner. "This is a situation in which, not only did the candidate testify that his intent was not to abandon his Chicago residence, his acts fully support and confirm that intent," the court wrote in the ruling. [More Info]

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Original Post  Jan. 24, 2011 - 4:03 PM: An Illinois Appeals Court has ruled 2-1 that Rahm Emanuel's name can't appear on the ballot for Chicago mayor. Reason: Emanuel didn't live in the city in the year before the election. The appeals court issued a 25 page ruling that overturned the already biased Chicago Board of Elections who determined that the former White House chief of staff eligible to run for mayor of the city because Rahm called Chicago his home. Rahm is indeed a prior known associate of the political mob that has ruled Chicago and helped to elect Obama as president. Word is rumored that his former CORN associates were ready to stuff the ballot boxes.

Well, Rahm has not given up and is basically telling the court to euphemistically to shove it and saying that he will prevail and be on the ballot. Emanuel's response, "I have no doubt that we will in the end prevail at this effort. This is just one turn in the road. The people of the city of Chicago deserve the right to make the decision on who they want to be their next mayor." He added, "My attorneys are going to ask for a stay [of the appellate court's decision] there so I can get my name printed on the ballot as well."

Some are arguing that if Emanuel does not get a stay, there is no legal basis to prevent him from running as a write-in candidate. Ken Menzel, a legal counsel with the Illinois State Board of Elections said, "We don't have a challenge process for write-in candidates in Illinois. You can't prevent a person from being a write-in candidate." James Allen, speaking for the Chicago Board of Elections, said that Emanuel would have until Feb. 15 to file a write-in bid for the Feb. 22 Chicago mayoral primary election.

Illinois Compiled Statutes 65 ILCS 5 Illinois Municipal Code. Section 3.1-10-5 that was addressed by the Appellate court governs eligibility to hold public office, not eligibility to be on a ballot. But this leaves us with the question, If Emmanuel is a write-in candidate and actually wins will the court over-ride the peoples vote and prevent him from being mayor of Chicago? It also begs the question, is Chicago politics still so corrupt as to elect Emanuel? And, if elected, doesn't Chicago truly deserve him?

Since Rahm is famous for his quote "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste," we expect he will find some way to turn this situation into an opportunity for himself. Rahm is not without his fans fundinghis campaign even from out side of Chicago. The Political Fix is reporting that "Bob Clark, head of Clayco Inc. construction in Overland, Mo . . . donated $50,000 to Rahm Emanuel's campaign for mayor of Chicago. . . . Emanuel collected five-and-six figure checks from the elite of Hollywood and the Miracle Mile. . . . Shahid Khan, the Champaign, Ill. car parts entrepreneur who tried to buy the Rams, donated $100,000. Film legend Steven Spielberg gave $75,000. (Emanuel's brother, Ari, is a prominent agent in the entertainment industry.) . . .

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