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http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/2769580,CST-NWS-vote04.article
The first question isn't: Can Rahm win? It's: Can Rahm run?
Sunday, Rahm Emanuel announced in a video posted on a website that he is preparing to run for mayor of Chicago. But two of Chicago's top election lawyers say the state's municipal code is crystal clear that a candidate for mayor must reside in the town for a year before the election.
...
Another three election lawyers say Emanuel could be thrown off the ballot on a residency challenge. None says Emanuel will have it easy.
...
"The guy does not meet the statutory requirements to run for mayor," said attorney Burt Odelson. "He hasn't been back there in 18 months. Residency cases are usually very hard to prove because the candidate gets an apartment or says he's living in his mother's basement. Here the facts are easy to prove. He doesn't dispute he's been in Washington for the past 18 months. This is not a hard case."
Emanuel could argue that he has maintained ownership of the home, voted absentee earlier this year, pays property taxes on his house, lists the address on his driver's license, registers his car there, and always intended to return. Cook County judges give great deference to a candidate's intent.
...
Odelson was one of the lawyers on George W. Bush's team during the Florida recount. Since then, he has represented mostly Democrats, and he worked on signature-gathering for two of Emanuel's likely opponents, Sheriff Tom Dart and the Rev. James Meeks.
Illinois municipal code requires that to run for mayor of a town in Illinois, "You must be a registered voter, and you must have resided there for one year prior to the election," Nally said.
The first question isn't: Can Rahm win? It's: Can Rahm run?
Sunday, Rahm Emanuel announced in a video posted on a website that he is preparing to run for mayor of Chicago. But two of Chicago's top election lawyers say the state's municipal code is crystal clear that a candidate for mayor must reside in the town for a year before the election.
...
Another three election lawyers say Emanuel could be thrown off the ballot on a residency challenge. None says Emanuel will have it easy.
...
"The guy does not meet the statutory requirements to run for mayor," said attorney Burt Odelson. "He hasn't been back there in 18 months. Residency cases are usually very hard to prove because the candidate gets an apartment or says he's living in his mother's basement. Here the facts are easy to prove. He doesn't dispute he's been in Washington for the past 18 months. This is not a hard case."
Emanuel could argue that he has maintained ownership of the home, voted absentee earlier this year, pays property taxes on his house, lists the address on his driver's license, registers his car there, and always intended to return. Cook County judges give great deference to a candidate's intent.
...
Odelson was one of the lawyers on George W. Bush's team during the Florida recount. Since then, he has represented mostly Democrats, and he worked on signature-gathering for two of Emanuel's likely opponents, Sheriff Tom Dart and the Rev. James Meeks.
Illinois municipal code requires that to run for mayor of a town in Illinois, "You must be a registered voter, and you must have resided there for one year prior to the election," Nally said.
