Robyn / January 25, 2011 12:29 AM

Mechanics has a nice commentary on the issue, if you're interested...

R / January 25, 2011 12:33 AM

If he's removed from the ballot and there's no recourse, I'll vote for Rahm as a write-in candidate (but I'm not sure if the residency requirement applies then)...for Gery Chico to be sitting there with a grin on his face while the wife (Anne Burke) of one of his supporters votes in favor of removing Rahm from the ballot is completely unfair and a huge conflict of interest.

I hope Rahm and his team fight to the death on this one. The other candidates should support his right to be on the ballot rather than licking their chops in anticipation of a weaker playing field.

charlie / January 25, 2011 8:18 AM

I think it's BUNK but they all play the same game.

Ed Burke's finger prints are all over this. It is high time we change these strong arm rules about getting on and staying on a ballot.

Pete / January 25, 2011 9:05 AM

Legally I don't think he has a valid argument (am I still a Chicago resident? I moved out in 2000 but have always considered moving back), but given the shadyness of Chicago and Illinois politics, I think he'll end up on the ballot and win. Which is actually good for the city, because he's by far the best candidate in the running.

printdude / January 25, 2011 10:01 AM

I LOVE IT. I think that if Rahm was truly paying attention, he would have re-established his residency in proper time, following the letter of law. Having failed to this, he doesn't belong on the ballot. I am biased because I don't like him, so what I think doesn't mean squat, and would take great joy in his failure to even make the ballot, that elitist jagoff.

Mucky Fingers / January 25, 2011 10:56 AM

I don't care. Rahm looks like his only interest as mayor is preserving King Richie's Tourist Empire.

bob / January 25, 2011 11:00 AM

While I'm not a big Rahm supporter, I think the fact that the cause of his absence was that he was serving in the administration of the flippin President of the USA is enough to get him on the ballot. He owns a home, pays property taxes and votes here. That's as close as you can get to being a resident. Sure, he doesn't physically sleep here on a regular basis, but it seems clear to me that his ties to Chicago remain. I've often wondered what would happen if someone serving on the military overseas for a few years came back and wanted to run for mayor. Would they get the boot, too? Granted, it's not exactly the same (or as non-life-threatening) as being Chief of Staff, but both seem to be 'call if duty' jobs that should perhaps constitute a loophole for the residency issue.

Mike / January 25, 2011 11:34 AM

I said it on Chicagoist and I'll say it here: In 2003 two dirtbags shot and killed a friend of mine in Ravenswood. Rahm Emanuel showed up at the wake. One of my friends approached him to thank him for coming and Emanuel downplayed it and said he was just there "as a neighbor." He was very low-key, payed his respects and left. Most there didn't even notice him. Although I don't plan to vote for Emanuel, he is most definitely a "resident" of Chicago in my book.

Cheryl / January 25, 2011 11:54 AM

The law says service to the country is an exception. It doesn't say anything about that service being exclusively military service. Working for the POTUS surely counts as service.

And no, I don't plan on voting for him. I just think this ruling is incorrect.

Spook / January 25, 2011 12:51 PM

And now, a word from The City of Chicago's 14th Ward Alderman, The Honorable Edward M. Burke.

"Damn it feels good to be a gangsta
A real gangsta-a$$ ni*** plays his cards right.
A real gangsta-a$$ n**** never runs his f*ckin mouth
cuz real gangsta-a$$ ni**** don't start fights.

While ni**** always gotta high cap showin' all his boys how he shot em
Real gangsta-a$$ ni**** don't flex nuts
cuz real gangsta-a$$ ni**** know they got em

And everything's cool in the mind of a gangsta
cuz gangsta-a$$ ni**** think deep, up three-sixty-five, 24/7 cuz real gangsta a$$ ni**** don't sleep.

Now all I gotta say to you wannabe, gonnabe, ****-eating' **** sucking*****' prankstas

When the sh*t jumps off what the f*ck YOU gonna do?
Damn it feels good to be a gangsta"

p.s. while Gary Chico
slept comfortably in his home with his family, miraculously in the night a Valentine's Day card was stealthy placed on his bedside table. When Mr. Chico awoke, he read it.

Now Gaper Block fans will appreciate that it was signed "anonymous",
but it read,
"Who's your Daddy now?
I hope you're smart enough to know this question is rhetorical. My wife's birthday is February 3. It is going to be a great year for Chicago"

A note from Spook
Any similarity between
The Honorable Edward M. Burke and any famous persons living, deceased or fictional is purely coincidental. This includes Scarface, Willie D, and Bushwick Bill of The Geto Boys. Clearly The Honorable Edward M. Burke only listens to Opera because it states such in his official bio.

"Chicago, Chicago
That toddlin' town
Chicago, Chicago
I'll show you around"

LaShawn Williams / January 25, 2011 1:34 PM

@Printdude--what was that now? I didn't quite get what you meant! LOL!!!!! :-)

Cletus Warhol / January 25, 2011 2:19 PM

It seems to me that what it comes down to is that Rahm may lose his chance to be Mayor (this time) merely because he was too cheap to let his house sit unoccupied for a couple years while he served in Washington. Instead he rented it out for what (to him) was pocket change (and to random a-holes, not even a friend or slacker relative who would go to bat for him!).

BTW- Can he run as a write-in? Does the wording of the statute only deal with his being on the ballot or does it also include serving as mayor? I'm too lazy to look it up myself, anyone know?

I would think that he could easily win as a write-in if he is allowed to run.

Dennis Fritz / January 26, 2011 10:14 AM

I'll say what I've said before. If Rahm Emanuel were a Republican or a third party candidate, or even if he were a Democrat without so much clout, he'd have been bumped off the ballot post haste. We wouldn't even be having this discussion. His candidacy is a clear violaton of the existing statute. The appelate court was just doing its job in upholding the law.

David Tortuga / January 26, 2011 1:25 PM

Well, for one thing he's already back on the ballot. And for another, if his job as chief of staff were such a noble service to the country, why did he abandon it to come to Chicago and take over for Daley? But most importantly, could he please grow a beard, or at least try some type of facial hair. His bald face gives me the heebie jeebies. (Yes, this is a very yucky guy. I saw him on Michigan Avenue the other day trying to shake hands with everyone, and people were practically tripping over each other trying to flee the scene.)