Wilmette's Rahm Emanuel Currently Off Chicago Ballot
Thank goodness, something to take our mind off yesterday's sad loss at Soldier Field. It looks like Wilmette's own Rahm Emanuel is, at least for the time being, off the ballot for Mayor in the City of Chicago. The court found that there is a difference between being a qualified voter and a qualified candidate. "As we have observed, the 'reside in' requirement is stated separately from, and in addition to, the requirement that he be a qualified elector of Chicago in order to be a candidate for municipal office. The fact that the two requirements are stated separately and in the conjunctive leads to the inference that the legislature intended that they be considered separately from, and in addition to, each other."
" . . . for purposes of the "business of the United States" residency exception, this State has for over 150 years recognized a distinction between voters and candidates and has retained the exception only for voters. That revelation, combined with our interpretation of the language of section 3-2 and its interrelation with subsection 3.1-10-5(d) of the Municipal Code, convinces us that section 3-2's 'business of the United States' exception applies only to voters, not to candidates. Accordingly, it cannot avail the candidate here."
This is not to say that the question has been settled, as the appeal continues to the next level. There is a long dissent which could prevail in the next round, which doesn't find any distinction between being a voter and being a candidate. As the dissent says: "[T]he candidate never voted in Washington, D.C., never changed his driver’s license to Washington, D.C., never registered his car in Washington, D.C., never purchased property in Washington, D.C., never conducted personal banking in Washington, D.C., and never demonstrated an intent to sell his Chicago home. The challengers failed to counter the candidate’s evidence, and the Board found that the weight of this evidence established that the candidate intended to maintain his residence in Chicago throughout the time of his temporary employment in Washington, D.C."
What can I say other than "Goodness!" Well maybe I could say, how come no one ever notices that Rahm Emanuel grew up in Wilmette?
" . . . for purposes of the "business of the United States" residency exception, this State has for over 150 years recognized a distinction between voters and candidates and has retained the exception only for voters. That revelation, combined with our interpretation of the language of section 3-2 and its interrelation with subsection 3.1-10-5(d) of the Municipal Code, convinces us that section 3-2's 'business of the United States' exception applies only to voters, not to candidates. Accordingly, it cannot avail the candidate here."
This is not to say that the question has been settled, as the appeal continues to the next level. There is a long dissent which could prevail in the next round, which doesn't find any distinction between being a voter and being a candidate. As the dissent says: "[T]he candidate never voted in Washington, D.C., never changed his driver’s license to Washington, D.C., never registered his car in Washington, D.C., never purchased property in Washington, D.C., never conducted personal banking in Washington, D.C., and never demonstrated an intent to sell his Chicago home. The challengers failed to counter the candidate’s evidence, and the Board found that the weight of this evidence established that the candidate intended to maintain his residence in Chicago throughout the time of his temporary employment in Washington, D.C."
What can I say other than "Goodness!" Well maybe I could say, how come no one ever notices that Rahm Emanuel grew up in Wilmette?
posted by Publia at 3:30 PM
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