Rahm Emanuel was thrown off the ballot for mayor of Chicago today by an appellate court panel, a stunning blow to the fund-raising leader in the race.
An appellate panel ruled 2-1 that Emanuel did not meet the residency standard to run for mayor.
Appellate justices Thomas Hoffman and Shelvin Louise Marie Hall ruled against Emanuel. Justice Bertina Lampkin voted in favor of keeping President Obama’s former chief of staff on the Feb. 22 ballot.
“It’s a surprise,” said Kevin Forde, the attorney who argued on Emanuel’s behalf.
Emanuel is expected to comment on the ruling at a 1:30 p.m. appearance at The Berghoff in the Loop.
Emanuel’s attorneys are expected to use Lampkin’s dissenting opinion to appeal the case to the Illinois Supreme Court.
In today’s ruling, Hoffman wrote: “We ... order that the candidate’s name be excluded (or if, necessary, be removed) from the ballot.”
Emanuel had won two previous rulings — before the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners and a Cook County judge. The case was appealed to the appellate court, which handed down the ruling before noon Monday.
Opponents have argued Emanuel is not a resident of Chicago because he 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.
Burt Odelson, the attorney who led the charge to throw Emanuel off the ballot, said the appellate court appears to have adopted all of his arguments that the state municipal code requires candidates for mayor in Illinois to reside within the town in which they’re running for a year prior to Election Day.
Emanuel’s attorneys had argued state election code, which covers eligibility to vote, should also count toward eligibility to run for mayor. However, Justice Hoffman wrote: “neither the [election] board nor the party have, however, referred us to any Supreme Court opinion ratifying, adopting or directly addressing this approach.”
Emanuel attorney Mike Kasper said he would file an appeal with the state Supreme Court either today or Tuesday. He said having the one dissenting opinion from Justice Lampkin should help his cause.
Odelson noted that the Supreme Court may decide that Hoffman so thoroughly addressed the legal issues in his opinion, that the Supreme Court may not even take the case.
However, Odelson said he may not oppose Kasper’s request to have the Supreme Court hear the case because this is an important enough issue that the state’s highest court should probably weigh in.
Emanuel’s opponents in the race —including Gery Chico, Carol Mosely Braun and Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins -- quickly scheduled afternoon news conferences to react to the news.
Chico has taken pains to steer clear of the residency challenge and publicly support Emanuel’s right to run for mayor. He campaign did the same after Monday’s ruling.
Brooke Anderson, a spokeswoman for Chico, issused the following statement: “From day one, Gery Chico’s campaign has been about putting Chicagoans back to work, making our neighborhoods safer and giving our children the education they deserve. Today’s news is a surprise but it will not impact how we run our campaign. Gery will continue to work for every vote and lay out his plans to take Chicago in a whole new direction.”
The Board of Elections has not yet printed up the ballot.
Odelson said Board of Elections attorney Jim Scanlon told him that as of this moment, Emanuel’s name would stay off the ballot.
Emanuel’s attorneys will likely ask for a “stay” of the order today or Tuesday. If that is granted, Emanuel’s name could go back on the ballot.
Ald. Pat O’Connor (40th), Daley’s City Council floor leader, is among a handful of North Side ward bosses firmly in Emanuel’s camp. If the Supreme Court affirms Monday’s ruling or takes a pass, O’Connor would be like a man without a country.
“It puts me where I’ve always been. I’ve supported Rahm since he announced. I’ll support him until it’s determined he can no longer be a mayoral candidate,” O’Connor said.
Pressed to identify his second choice, O’Connor said, “I wouldn’t even speculate on that. I’m hoping he’s on the ballot and it works out. If not, we’ll reassess and see who’ll have us. If the polls are correct, Gery Chico and Carol Moseley Braun are pretty close. I don’t know who would become the frontrunner. But, I’m not quite certain I’m giving up on our current frontrunner.”
Another ward boss, who asked to remain anonymous, predicted that Chico would be the “primary beneficiary” if Emanuel is knocked off the ballot.
“If you were for Rahm, he’s kind of a business-like person who can get things done. Gery is a similar personality. He’s more like Rahm than Carol is like Rahm. More people in Rahm’s camp would default to him than to Carol,” the committeeman said.
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