Chico: Drop Residency Requirement for City Workers

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 26, 2011 1:37PM

While the state Supreme Court has yet to weigh in on Rahm Emanuel's appeal of his being tossed off the mayoral ballot for residency issues, Gery Chico worked to solidify his support with city workers yesterday. Chico said yesterday that he's open to abolishing the rule requiring city workers to live within the city limits. Chico said the city has "outgrown" the residency rule and that Chicago's middle class is strong enough to survive without it. (It's also a rule that, truth be told, many city workers we know already ignore.)

Both Chico and Emanuel answered questionnaires from the Fraternal Order of Police saying they would be open to relaxing the rule. The FOP and Chicago Firefighters Union, with 25,000 active members and retirees, endorsed Chico for mayor. Both unions have lobbied hard against the residency rule, which was imposed by Mayor Richard J. Daley and enforced by every subsequent mayor.

Both Miguel del Valle and Carol Moseley Braun released statements criticizing Chico's stance. Braun said lifting the city's residency requirement would pose a "direct threat" to Chicago's middle class. Del Valle was more pointed in his statement, saying that lifting the residency requirement would leave neighborhoods to fend for themselves and that he would not "pander to get an endorsement."