Countdown to Rahmageddon: Tossed Off the Ballot

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 24, 2011 5:59PM

Whoa. We repeat: WHOA!!!! The Illinois Appellate Court has tossed Rahm Emanuel off the ballot for next month's mayoral election, reversing last month's decision by a lower court.

More to come.

[UPDATES 12:20 p.m.]: The vote to toss Emanuel off the ballot was 2-1 in favor, with Appellate judges Thomas Hoffman and Shelvin Louise Marie Hall ruling against Emanuel. Judge Bertina Lampkin voted to keep him on the ballot. In their majority ruling, Hoffman and Hall wrote, "We conclude that the candidate neither meets the the municipal code’s requirement that he have [sic] ‘resided’ in Chicago for the year preceding the election in which he seeks to participate nor falls within any exception to the requirement.”

[UPDATE 12:30 p.m.]: The full opinion from the Appellate Court can be read here (PDF Format). The Emanuel campaign has released a statement saying they will appeal the decision to the Illinois Supreme Court (if they aren't en route to Springfield already). Meanwhile, Gery Chico has announced a press conference for 1:15 p.m.

[UPDATE 12:50]: Mayoral candidate Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins has also announced a press conference to address the Emanuel tossing for 1 p.m. at the Board of Elections. Meanwhile, Capitol Fax's Rich Miller has found some of the more choice passages of Judge Lampkin's dissenting opinion.

[UPDATE 1 p.m.]: The Chico campaign released a 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.”