The most destructive thug in politics (a rather competitive title), Rahm Emanuel, has experienced a blow to his 2011 plans. It was announced today that he has not met the residency requirements to run for the office of the mayor in Chicago. This is despite the fact that “Emanuel had won two previous rulings — by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners and a Cook County judge. The case was appealed to the appellate court … Emanuel … rented out his North Side home while serving as chief of staff to Obama. The renter —Rob Halpin — refused to allow Emanuel to move back in after Mayor Daley’s announcement last year that he would not seek re-election. Halpin briefly ran for mayor himself.”
Chicago is infamous for its “anything goes” political machinery. Yet Rahm’s résumé, filled with gems like Freddie Mac and the first half of the Obama presidency, maybe led them to decide that their fair city was too important to leave to a psychotic goon and thankfully the law gave them a good excuse to deny him that (for now). This makes me wonder what other mischief Emanuel will be up to with his newfound free time. Has he lost his political capital without his title in the Obama administration? Was he blamed for any of the political backlash towards the administration? Maybe he’ll spread his terror by consulting some political campaigns…
Hopefully he’ll go back to his ballerina roots.
——————————————–
Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube
Visit the Legal Insurrection Shop on CafePress!
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Chicago's problem is that the alternatives to Rahm Emanuel may be even worse.
"Hopefully he'll go back to his ballerina roots. "
NNNNNNOOOOOOOOO!
Rahm worked for boutique M&A; investment bank Wasserstein Perella for two and a half years after his stint in the Clinton administration but before he was elected to Congress. His 2.5 year career as an investment banker earned him $18 million.
The world of M&A; banking is very clubby and it is crawling with big donors to the Democratic Party and Democrat candidates. I'm sure Rahm's Rolodex is filled with the names of Wall Streeters willing to give him an office.
Rahm will be fine.
Here's what the NYT reported about Rahm's short but lucrative investment banking career:
http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/in-banking-top-obama-aide-made-money-and-connections/
Court to Rahm: "Your return to Chicago was tutu late!"
Discussion of the actual legal issue had my head aching in record time. Apparently, Rahm's position is that, even though he moved to D.C., he never "gave up his residency" in Chicago. WTH? Is "residency" such an elusive concept? Seems to me that if someone moves from City A to City B, he necessarily "gives up his residency" in City A. It's not actually that complicated.
I love this ruling for a couple of reasons:
1. It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.
2. This quote from the text of the ruling
We begin this task by resort to familiar principles of statutory interpretation. For a court interpreting a statute, the primary goal is to ascertain and give effect to the intention of the legislature, and the best indicator of that intent is the statute’s language, given its plain and ordinary meaning. Cinkus,228 Ill.2d at 216…
How refreshing to see a judge actually say you must interpret the law as written and understood by its plain language.
the decision and analysis here. i am less than sold on this decision.
http://patterico.com/2011/01/24/breaking-rahm-emanuel-is-off-the-mayoral-ballot/
A. Worthing
Are you questioning the logic of the decision or if it will hold under the appeal?
It is sad that the decision was 2-1. That just means one judge blatantly ignored the law. But I am glad that this court was able to overcome the corrupt Chicago Board of Elections.
DF
http://www.notadriveby.blogspot.com
What this probably means is that now Rahm will head back to D.C. to run the Obama/Biden re-election campaign.
mike
i feel that on the residency issue, it was less than persuasive. i'm not ready to call it wrong, but i wasn't won over.
on the application of the national service objection, i think they are much closer to the mark.
You are thinking that Carol Moseley Braun ("what do you mean, Detroit is not a good example for Chicago?") is an improvement? Emanuel is a smart thug, whereas Braun is a stupid one.