Court rules that Rahm Emanuel is ineligible for Chicago mayor ballot

Former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said Monday that he will appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court a ruling that booted him from the ballot in the Chicago mayoral race. 

The surprise ruling came from the Illinois Appellate Court, which reversed, by a vote of 2-1, the ruling of a lower court that said Emanuel was eligible to run.

{mosads}Emanuel, the front-runner in the race to replace Mayor Richard M. Daley, had been fighting a legal challenge to his residency. According to Chicago election law, candidates must live in the city for at least a year before the election, and critics said Emanuel’s service in Washington rendered him ineligible.

“We conclude that the candidate neither meets the municipal code’s requirement that he have ‘resided’ in Chicago for the year preceding the election in which he seeks to participate nor falls within any exception to the requirement,” the Appellate Court’s ruling read.

Shortly after the appellate court’s decision was announced, Emanuel told reporters he would take the issue to the state Supreme Court. 

Emanuel also said he planned to request a stay of the Appellate Court’s decision so he would not be removed from the ballot immediately. 

Time is running out, as early voting in the mayoral contest opens one week from Monday. The election is scheduled for Feb. 22. 

Emanuel has been the clear front-runner in the race for months, raising more money and retaining a double-digit lead over his opponents in the polls. 

Last week, he reported raising more than $10 million in the last half of 2010, and former President Clinton campaigned for him.

A few hours after the decision, the Emanuel campaign announced a rally outside the Chicago Board of Elections to highlight how much of the city supports his candidacy.

Brooke Anderson, a spokeswoman for former Chicago Public Schools President Gery Chico, who raised the most money after Emanuel in the second half of last year, said in a press release that she was stunned by the decision.

“Today’s news is a surprise, but it will not impact how we run our campaign,” Anderson said.

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At the press conference, Emanuel appeared confident. “I have no doubt at the end we will prevail,” he said.

Emanuel said earlier this month that he didn’t expect the lingering controversy over his residency to affect the race for mayor, saying of voters: “They’re not interested in where Rahm lives. They’re interested in where they live and the community where they want to raise a kid or get a job.”