Court Boots Rahm Emanuel From Chicago Mayoral Ballot

Court Boots Rahm Emanuel From Chicago Mayoral Ballot
by Wes Barrett | January 24, 2011

FILE - In this Jan. 4, 2011, file photo, Chicago mayoral candidate Rahm Emanuel speaks at a news conference at the Better Boys Foundation in Chicago. On Monday, Jan. 24, 2011, the Illinois Appeals Court has ruled that Emanuel's name can't appear on the ballot for Chicago mayor because he didn't live in the city in the year before the election. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)

An appeals court in Chicago ruled Monday that Rahm Emanuel doesn't meet the residency requirements to run for mayor of Chicago and ordered his name be pulled off the ballot. The three judge panel voted 2-1 against Emanuel.

In a major blow to Emanuel's campaign, Monday's ruling overturned a Cook County Circuit Court ruling that upheld a Chicago Board of Elections decision to let Emanuel run in the February 22nd election.

The court agreed with Emanuel's contention that he met Chicago's voter residency standard but added that wasn't enough to allow his run for mayor.

"...a candidate must meet not only the Election Code's voter residency standard, but also must have actually resided within the municipality for one year prior to the election, a qualification that the candidate unquestionably does not satisfy," the ruling stated.

And the ruling may well keep Emanuel's name off the ballot.

"We're going to press with one less candidate for mayor," said Langdon D. Neal, the chairman of the Board of Election Commissioners for the city of Chicago.

The residency questions stem from Emanuel's time spent living in Washington while he served as President Obama's chief of staff.  He resigned and moved back to Chicago in October of 2010 and almost immediately announced his candidacy for mayor.

Click here to read the ruling.

Read more: http://politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/01/24/court-boots-rahm-emanuel-chicago-mayoral-ballot#ixzz1CF9n8DTX