Is Rahm Emanuel a resident of Chicago and eligible to run for mayor ?

Why not !!!

In this great country of ours someone can be born in Kenya and yet get his grandparents to place an annoucment in the Hawaii papers saying he was born in Hawaii  and convence the Hawaii Department of Health to even issue a birth certif9icate saying their grandson was born in Hawaii, all with 40 plus years advance planning to ensure that their grandson would become President of the US of A someday !!!

Compared to that what is a matter of 12 months residency within the city limits for Rahm Emanuel in  order to become Mayor of Chicago.  If we can be creative for US Presidents, Chicacgo, the center for legal and election creativity can certainly claim that Rahm Emanuel has been a legal resident of Chicacgo in "body and spirit" (the dead even vote in Chicacgo) for 12 plus months !!!

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Is Rahm Emanuel a resident of Chicago and eligible to run for mayor?


Read more: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/your-doubting-thomas/2010/10/is-rahm-emanuel-a-resident-of-chicago-and-eligible-to-run-for-mayor.html#ixzz15I6tjGsS


Brian C. Thomas on 10.06.10 at 9:00 AM | no comments |  ..Brian C. Thomas
Husband/father/attorney tired of the political status quo

Now that we've welcomed Rahm back home let's slow down the Rahm for mayor bandwagon just a little bit. As Rahm had to move to Chicago to run for mayor, a hotly contested issue will be whether Rahm is a resident of Chicago. Rahm's residency is at issue as a mayoral candidate has to be a resident of the city of Chicago for one year as of February 2011, to be eligible to run. Rahm and his family lived in Chicago until moving to Washington D.C. as President Obama's Chief of Staff. Now, his wife and children live in Washington D.C. and will remain there until the school year is over. Upon resigning his post as Chief of Staff late last week, Rahm returned to Chicago.

Upon deciding he was going to run for mayor of Chicago, Rahm, was forced to rent a condominium in River West. Why? Because his four bedroom home on the northside is currently rented- and the lease was extended before Mayor Daley decided he was not going to seek reelection.

The law provides that any other mayoral candidate has to have been a resident of the city of Chicago for a year before the February 2011 election.  Therefore, whether Rahm lived in Chicago will be at issue. The factors Rahm has in his favor include owning a home, paying property taxes, and being a Chicago voter. Will these factors be enough to establish residency in Chicago? Prior to moving back to Chicago, Rahm consulted with Chicago's top election attorney Michael Casper. Presumptively, Mr. Casper's opinion is that the law will find  Rahm a resident. But what effect does the fact that Rahm did not have a bed in Chicago, until recently, have on his residency?  What effect does the fact that Rahm had to scurry to rent a home in Chicago have on his argument? If he was a resident of Chicago on September 5th, than why did he have to quickly find a place to live when he decided to move back?

About his residency, Rahm recently said: "I have spent my entire life, outside of going to college and working at the White House, here in the city of Chicago. The Board of Elections will decide this, that's the proper place. So, in the next five, six weeks, let's have a debate about these issues that the residents of Chicago care about, not my residency."

For the record, his biography is close but not quite accurate. Rahm was born and initially raised in Chicago, however, he attended junior and senior high school in Wilmette. After high school at New Trier, he spurned the Joffrey Ballet- where he earned a scholarship to dance ballet- for Sarah Lawrence College in the suburbs of New York City. After completing his undergraduate degree, Rahm returned to Evanston earning his master's degree from Northwestern University. While earning his degree, Rahm started his political career working for several local candidates, including working on Paul Simon's 1984 election to the U.S. Senate and then working as senior advisor and finance chair on Mayor Daley's successful bid for mayor in 1989.

But that was then and this is now. Will Rahm satisfy the Chicago residency requirement to run for mayor in 2011? Ultimately, that will be up to a judge's interpretation. It should be interesting to see which judge is assigned the case to decide. Stay tuned!

Read more: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/your-doubting-thomas/2010/10/is-rahm-emanuel-a-resident-of-chicago-and-eligible-to-run-for-mayor.html#ixzz15I6iIjEO
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