Experts say Rahm Emanuel not a legal resident of city

[oberliner]

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.

That doesn't mean they must simply own a home in the city that they rent out to someone else. They must have a place they can walk into, keep a toothbrush, hang up their jacket and occasionally sleep, the lawyers say.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/2769580,CST-NWS-vote04.article

[saigon68]

1. That's O.K

They'll bend the rules for the little Weasel

[Radical Activist]

2. When was the last time he lived in the city full time? 92?

Rahm has been a DC figure for years, even when he represented part of Chicago in Congress. That's going to be a problem for him even if he's allowed on the ballot.

[karynnj]

9. He had to have a residence when he was a representative

He has rented it while in the Obama administration. He clearly has been a resident of somewhere near DC. I am surprised that he rented out his Chicago home - at least without renting an apartment. It was always said that he wanted to ultimately be speaker or Mayor of Chicago - and he would need residency for either.

One interesting comment was that he had very recently renewed the lease - weeks before Daley's announcement. This has to mean that Daley did not give him a heads up. Had he done so - Rahm would not have renewed the lease and he would have listed that address as is residence. It would still have been skirting the rule, but it would have been less obvious than now when he has no residence that he can move into. I wonder if that means that Daley favors someone else.

[Mass]

11. I was confused reading that as I remembered in 2009, they announced they would keep the family in

Chicago. So, I guess they moved mid 2009.

[karynnj]

14. Mid 2009 would make sense

If they had just renewed the lease in August/September, it might be that they moved in the summer before the school year and rented the house at that point.

[Radical Activist]

31. And he spent most of his time in DC as a Congressman.

He was a never a district-oriented Congressman. He was a member of of leadership and a DC figure.

[karynnj]

32. What Congressman or Senator doesn't?

Except for Maryland, Virginia and Delaware (where Biden took the train every day he needed to be in the Senate) they really have to be in DC for at least half the time.

[Radical Activist]

33. Many.

All Congressmen differ in how much time they spend back home. Some focus on things happening in their district and go back home every chance they get. Others stay in DC more often and focus on national issues, like being DCCC chair.

[karynnj]

36. I realize that there is a huge variance

I suspect that you are right that Rahm has never been that connected to his district. From the Wikipedia biography, he has not lived in Chicago for most of his adult life.

[tularetom]

3. Who cares? He's out of the WH

This tells me he didn't plan this out very well. Maybe he didn't plan it at all and the whole thing is an elaborately crafted cover story to obscure the fact that he was asked to leave.

That's what I'd like to believe anyway.

If he's ruled ineligible and doesn't return to the WH it'll be hard to convince me he wasn't fired.

[Dinger]

4. I'm With You

Very interesting post. Thank you.

[Radical Activist]

34. People who live in Chicago, or care about the city. Besides...

If Rahm wins this race, he might decide to run for President someday.

[leveymg]

5. Where do his wife and children live? He has legal residence there, provided

he's visited them in the last year. Maybe . . . maybe not.

[stray cat]

6. His wife and family still live there I thought

[Mass]

12. This is what I thought as well.

[LiberalFighter]

19. I think last week there was an article about Rahm trying to break the lease

of the people renting his home. He was offering incentives but they wouldn't budge.

[alcibiades_mystery]

7. Look at all the Rahm Haters Jumping on a Sun-Times Propaganda Piece

:rofl:

Oy vey.

[depakid]

8. The election laws are what they are

These things are what some of us old school types call objective facts- those sorts of deals that are generally immune to spin or rewriting history.

I guess we'll see soon enough how the laws apply.

[Aramchek]

25. since when did old school mean expatriate??

[dionysus]

27. .

:spray:

[depakid]

43. Apparently, the rule of law means very little when its application might be inconvenient

to certain favored people's interests.

We saw support for that notion throughout the 00's and, perhaps unsurprisingly given the dynamic, we're seeing it again in the 10's.

[Aramchek]

26. the bitterness is strong with them

[saltpoint]

10. I'm sure other candidates' camps will try to pimp this

big time but I don't think service in a presidential administration will likely be held against Emanuel.

He's also very likely to have anticipated this before he ever made the decision to run.

[depakid]

16. "Service" may be irrelevant to the situation

That little "accountability under the rule of law" deal that got pushed aside in DC, might actually come back to bite in Chicago under these facts.

[saltpoint]

17. Possibly, but possibly not.

Voters' perceptions of service to country, IMO, will handily eclipse the technicality of residency laws.

Rahm faces a greater challenge in a campaign by Tom Dart.

[depakid]

18. Based on the sources cited, "perception of service" has nothing to do with the specifics

of the residency requirement. If a person leases out their property exclusively to another for a term, then they have no legal right to domicile there. This irrespective of whether a person did or did not reside there from time to time, as congresspersons or senators often do.

That bit of law is nearly as old as due process and habeas corpus.

[saltpoint]

44. Watch this space.

The two may be quite a bit more connectd than you think.

In addition, post #20 in this thread is instructive.

[MiniMe]

13. When is the election?

It seems late for him to jump into the election for this November.

[saltpoint]

15. Last Tuesday in February.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_of_Chicago

[riderinthestorm]

20. The last paragraph in this article from CBE means he's going to run

"Actually, Chicago Board of Elections officials have said, with the caveat that they cannot comment on specific cases and they won't know what objections will be raised against mayoral candidates until Nov. 29, that they start with the presumption of intent if a candidate maintains a home in Chicago and votes absentee there.

"It's the sense of the election board that if you keep ownership of the property, keep your registration there, you've voted absentee, as far as we know he hasn't registered anywhere else, it's just like members of the military who serve overseas in Iraq -- we don't deny them the right to vote; people who take corporate assignments overseas, and lease out their home as a fact of life, it doesn't mean they've left permanently," Chicago Board of Elections spokesman Jim Allen said.

"If you are a registered voter and continue to vote from your residence, you establish what we consider the intent to be a resident of the city of Chicago," Chicago Election Board Chairman Langdon Neal told CBS2Chicago."


Even his house in Wilmette is in Cook County if I can recall. Rahm has never been anything but a Chicagoan and I'm sure his service in DC won't disqualify him from running for mayor.

[ClarkUSA]

21. Good news. I'll bet those quoted "experts" are Republicans spinning for all they're worth.

I'm glad Rahm is back home with his family. He gave up alot to serve his country. Now they have him back and he's fulfilling one of his dreams after deferring another (becoming Speaker of the House).

[riderinthestorm]

22. Chicago Board of Elections is composed of 3 people

Two are appointed by the Democratic party and one is appointed by the Republican party.

No way is Rahm kept off the ticket imho. He's helped too many people get elected (especially Obama) in Chicago. He's an incredible fundraiser and there's no way in hell the two Dems on the CBE will keep him off the ballot.

ETA: Honestly, I don't think he can win. He's starting too far back and he has other competitors who are much more entwined in their Chicago communities like Luis Gutierrez - hell, even Jesse Jackson Jr. can swing a shitload of voters in the black communities. Of course, like I've said before, Rahm Emmanual can raise money and I never discount that in any election so who knows.

[ClarkUSA]

23. Thanks for the insight.

I don't know much about Chicago, but as a New Yorker, I can easily understand what you're saying. Whether Rahm wins or not, I'm happy for his kids and wife. If he loses, I am pretty sure he'll end up back in Congress. It's all good.

[Aramchek]

24. do you really think he would have left his former job if he couldn't run?

[AspenRose]

28. Exactly

If he's been planning to do this for a while, surely he's done the research on the requirements.

[vaberella]

29. That's why I don't get the point of this thread. Ugh...the sheer stupidity. n/t

[Aramchek]

30. the point is that they hate, hate, hate Rahm Emmanuel.

[old mark]

35. Maybe they could arrest him for vagrancy...he has no job now....nt

[Chisox08]

37. I want him to run

so that he can get his ass handed to him by Tom Dart or my Alderman Bob Fioretti. Let him run because I don't want to hear any whining or crying from the Rahm camp. Did he forget the Chicago is still a union town and all of that union bashing and union busting he did in DC will be his downfall.

[WeekendWarrior]

38. And who do these election lawyers have ties to?

That's the first question I'd ask.

[Chisox08]

39. The Chicago Board of Elections

[WeekendWarrior]

41. Yeah, I GET that, but

who do they have ties to?

[Chisox08]

42. If you are talk about what party they are from

They were appointed by Democrats, Mayor Daley and the city council. 99.9% of them are Democrats

[WeekendWarrior]

45. What I'm asking -- and it should be obvious --

is are they attached to another potential Democratic candidate? Do they have an axe to grind against Emanuel?

Aren't these questions that need to be answered before we take their word for it that he may not qualify? I mean, it's not unusual for election officials to hold an allegiance to a particular candidate. Remember Ohio?

[riderinthestorm]

49. I haven't done a lick of research on your question but will answer it anyway: Rahm is on the ballot

He's too "special", and I mean that in the best Chicago-insider-politics-way. Not only did he help Obama get elected, he's also closely tied with Hillary and her Chicago political pals. He knows everyone and where the bodies are buried (heh). He's helped with far too many fundraisers and his capability to "hurt" people is notorious (he's not a shy boy when it comes to cutting you off at the knees). I don't see anyone on the CBE who would be willing to cross him on this issue.

I don't think it matters who the CBE folks may want to back - or even who they may have backed in the past. Rahm's on the ballot because of his special place in Illinois politics. And Mayor of Chicago is the big enchilada for his kind of politics - crony driven deals (crooked and legit) that are far "sweeter" (and probably as lucrative) as anything he can get in Washington DC. Everyone in the US knows Mayor Richard Daley. Quick! Do you know who the Congressman is from the IL-5?

The game's just too big for petty shit like the exact rental status of his condo in Chicago vs. his house in Cook County (Wilmette) that his family still lives in, and how much time exactly he's spent back in the city etc. etc. I'll donate $20 to DU if I'm wrong on this but I'm sure Rahm's on the ballot. No way he'd even be launching anything otherwise.

[Phx_Dem]

40. Hooey. No way Rahm would have quit his job if he wasn't sure

he qualified. This is not new -- I heard about it on POTUS XM channel 2 weeks ago.

[Dinger]

46. LOL

:rofl:

[rocktivity]

47. "If you are a registered voter and continue to vote from your residence,

you establish what we consider the intent to be a resident of the city of Chicago," Chicago Election Board Chairman Langdon Neal told CBS2Chicago.

But Rahm RENTED his residence. It's the RENTER'S residence--Rahm doesn't reside there. And if he voted from that address (absentee or otherwise) while renting it to someone else, hasn't he committed voter fraud?

:shrug:
rocktivity

[truebrit71]

48. Whether he lives there or not doesn't play into it. Rahm owns it, pays taxes on it, and votes from..

...there..No voter fraud, and he'll be running..