Supporters of Rahm Emanuel rallied outside the Chicago Board of Elections after an Illinois appellate court panel ruled that he is not eligible to run for mayor Monday January 24, 2011.
Jose More/Chicago News Cooperative
Lawyers for Rahm Emanuel took immediate legal action Monday to keep his name from vanishing from the Feb. 22 mayoral ballot.
Emanuel spokesman Ben LaBolt said the lawyers filed a motion to suspend the ruling from an Illinois appellate court panel that disqualified the former White House chief of staff from running for mayor.
After the ruling, city election board officials said they would print ballots Monday night without Emanuel’s name on them.
At 5:30 p.m. Monday, election board spokesman Jim Allen said the process of printing ballots had already begun.
“We have to operate on the assumption that this was the last decision,” Allen said.
Officials had already delayed printing because of the Emanuel residency case. Ballots for some wards were originally scheduled to be printed almost a week ago, Allen said.
LaBolt said the motion filed Monday afternoon would delay the printing of ballot, adding that an appeal of the appellate court ruling would be formally lodged with the state Supreme Court on Tuesday morning.
LaBolt’s comments came at a rally of about 200 Emanuel supporters in downtown Chicago. The crowd chanted “Let Rahm run” at the hastily called demonstration at 69 W. Washington Street, where the city election board has its offices. Emanuel was not in attendance.
Juan Rangel, CEO of the United Neighborhood Organization, the city’s most prominent Latino group, spoke at the rally.
“Rahm has always intended to return to his home in Chicago,” Rangel said through a megaphone. “Let the people decide.”
Another Emanuel supporter, anti-crime activist Annette Nance-Holt, said he should qualify for an exemption that applies to military personnel who keep their residency status while out of town on duty.
“If serving as White House chief of staff doesn’t count as federal service, what does?” she said.
Despite the people-power rhetoric, the rally was hardly spontaneous. It was orchestrated by campaign staff, who notified supporters to show up outside the election board offices. The handmade signs at the rally contrasted sharply with the polished, national campaign ambiance of last week’s event where former President Bill Clinton spoke on behalf of Emanuel, his loyal political and White House aide.
Emanuel’s critics scoffed at the efforts Monday to cultivate the image of grass-roots support for Emanuel.
U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez, the Chicago Democrat who recently endorsed Gery Chico for mayor, issued a statement mocking Emanuel’s rally. Gutierrez noted that Emanuel has skipped many community forums that were attended by other candidates, and he made reference to one of Emanuel’s many big-money campaign donors.
“Rahm asking ordinary Chicagoans to rally for him to stay on the ballot is like Donald Trump having a bake sale to raise a few extra bucks,” Gutierrez said.
Emanuel was the subject of more organic displays of affection on Monday evening as he shook hands with bowlers on the North Side. Hours after the legal setback, the candidate campaigned as if nothing had changed, and many people took photos of him with their cell phone cameras, a scene common at his appearances since returning to Chicago.
Emanuel said many people had told him that they want him to appear on the ballot for mayor, and he asserted that this opinion predominated among voters.
“Since the ruling, I did two el stops this evening, a bowling alley and a couple of fire stations, and I want you to know how heartened I am and encouraged I am by the broad support from people, regardless even if they are voting for me — the sense that this was wrong,” he said.
The ruling violated “basic fairness” in the eyes of many Chicagoans, he added.
“They thought this issue was settled,” Emanuel said. “I’ve talked to over 1,000 people today.”
Emanuel said the feedback from the public made him more determined to insist on a place on the ballot, adding that his mother and people who he has worked with in politics have taught him to “never give in, never give up.”
Besides his public appearances, Emanuel — who has raised almost $11 million for his campaign — also attended a fundraiser Monday night. The “Latinos for Rahm” event was organized by UNO’s Rangel, a long-time ally of retiring Mayor Richard M. Daley.
Rangel said more than 200 people attended the fundraiser. “The court decision just solidified his support,” he said.
Emanuel’s campaign plans to continue running TV commercials, said LaBolt, Emanuel’s spokesman.
The board ruled last month that Emanuel could run for mayor, despite a requirement that candidates live in the city for a year before the election. Emanuel had moved to Washington in 2009 to serve as President Barack Obama‘s chief of staff. He resigned in October, shortly after Mayor Richard M. Daley said he would not seek a seventh term.
(Read the appellate court panel’s ruling here)
Based on the Illinois Appellate Court ruling on Rahm’s residency qualification is any candidate a resident if they resided at least one day outside the City?
““Since the ruling, I did two el stops this evening, a bowling alley and a couple of fire stations,”
The ruling was at 12:00, his press conference at 1:30 PM, and the rally wa at 5PM. so between 1:30 and 5Pm he made 5 stops in 3 1/2 hours- with travel time (minimum of 1 hour) between stops that probably 5 stops in 150 minutes- that approximately 30 minutes at each location- now think about that – that’s what I call wam bam thank you mam’. A community forum lasts minimum of 3 hours- he can cover 5 locations in approximately the same amount of time (take pics and shake hands with 100 people- but not answer any questions regarding his record of plans for the city.
The court has disrespected the people. They need to be voted out of office and in the mean time these judges should also be investigated for corruption.
The timing of this decision, this length of time for the court to mull it over, is highly suspect.
What I find most intriguing is the question if Emanuel still will be entitled to cast his vote in Chicago even if the Supreme Court should not overrule the apellate court. In other words, is it conceivable that there are two different definitions of “residency” depending on whether you’re a candidate or an elector?