The hearing officer who presided over three days of testimony and oral arguments last week in the Rahm Emanuel residency fight is expected to make his recommendation today on whether Emanuel can stay on the mayoral ballot for the Feb. 22 election.
The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners is scheduled to vote Thursday on the issue, and a court appeal is likely no matter what the ruling. At issue is whether Emanuel, who served as President Barack Obama's chief of staff in Washington until Oct. 1, meets the legal requirement of being a Chicago resident for one year prior to the election.
The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners is scheduled to vote Thursday on the issue, and a court appeal is likely no matter what the ruling.
Lawyers in the residency fight filed legal briefs today reasserting their arguments before Thursday's election board meeting.
Emanuel's lawyers maintain he never abandoned Chicago or his residence during the roughly two years he was Obama's chief of staff. Emanuel always intended to come back to Chicago, and as proof he offered that he never sold his North Side house and kept treasured items in the basement while leasing it.
His challengers counter that Emanuel is not qualified to run because he wasn't physically here and had no permanent Chicago home. Burt Odelson, the attorney for the lead objectors, also notes that Emanuel moved most of the family's possessions out of the house and forwarded their mail to Washington.
Hearing officer Joseph Morris declined to accept a brief submitted over the weekend by a group of 48 lawyers, professors and former judges who reiterated the arguments made by Emanuel's lawyers. It was endorsed by former federal Judge Abner Mikva and others who equated Emanuel's departure to Abraham Lincoln's move to Washington to become the 16th president.
Emanuel said Monday that if elected mayor, he would cut city costs in part by rewarding workers for taking part in a "wellness and disease management" program that could reduce the city's $500 million bill for health care to employees, retirees and their families.
-- Kristen Mack
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