Posted on 12/20/2010 4:06:02 PM PST by PBRCat
The hearing officer in Rahm Emanuel’s residency case has tossed out a friend-of-the-court brief filed by 47 well-known attorneys who argued that Emanuel should be allowed to run for mayor.
The attorneys raised no new arguments that Emanuel’s attorneys had not already made, and four of the attorneys work at the law firm, which is representing Emanuel in the case, hearing officer Joe Morris wrote.
Morris’ ruling on the friend-of-the-court brief does not necessarily signal his decision on Emanuel’s right to run for mayor, when he presents his findings to the Chicago Board of Elections.
“The hearing officer has examined the proposed brief and finds in it no argument that has not already been made,” Morris wrote.
The friend-of-the-court brief was unusual in that it contained six pages of argument — most of which Emanuel’s attorneys have already made — but seven pages of biographies of the arguers.
The lead attorney arguing to bounce Emanuel from the ballot, Burt Odelson, called the brief “political propoganda.” He said a straight-forward reading of the State Municipal Code shows candidates for mayor must have “resided in the municipality at least one year preceding the election.” The only exception is for those on “active duty military service.”
The friend-of-the-court brief argued that the fact that Emanuel rented out his house while serving as chief of staff to President Obama no more ends his residency than President Lincoln leasing his Springfield home when he went to Washington ended his residency in the state.
(Excerpt) Read more at suntimes.com ...
What more do you need to know?
I’ve heard this hearing officer is a really good person and will give a fair ruling. The problem is that I don’t know that this ruling will matter at all because no matter what it is, the losing side will not be happy, and the situation will be appealed to a higher court.
I’ve heard some Chicago talk show hosts repeating what they hear from the elites and political class in Chicago - and they see Rahm-bo as a done-deal. There are fundraising efforts going on already, major contributors lined up, all the jockeying for power and special interests who were at the top of the Daley pyramid are strongly behing Rahm. So it is REALLY going to piss ‘em off if the great unwashed masses actually have a say in this matter!
Regardless of the initial decision, it will go to the full Election Board, then Circuit Court, Appeals Court and the IL Supreme Court before it’s over, according to the movers and shakers on BOTH sides. Popcorn will be in short supply through February...
When the “mob” speaks, someone’s supposed to listen dammit!
Rahm is nervous about this and I am too!
I live in fallout zone #2, having a livable Chicago is good for me!
Those facts are enough for an amicus curiae filing to need be set aside, at least in California. (ok, the case is in Illinois, so sue me...)
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