Rahm Emanuel Addresses Residency Concerns
CHICAGO (CBS) - Rahm Emanuel's residency has threatened to become a major legal issue in the race to succeed Mayor Daley. He rented his home when he moved to Washington two years ago to be White House Chief of Staff, and now cannot get back in. A question, he says, but a non-issue in his campaign for mayor.
This has been going on since last week, much as Rahm Emanuel would like it to go away. And he may indeed have the law on his side.
On Tuesday, for the first time, he chose to make a detailed defense of his Chicago residency and his right to run.
Rahm Emanuel seemed pretty much "at home" in Bronzeville today; moving from table to table, listening to voters' concerns; slapping hands, swapping stories, snapping pictures.
"Jay, you covered me when I ran for Congress," he told CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine, "I love this type of getting in touch with people, listening to them, hearing their concerns."
Concerns which apparently do not include questions about Emanuel's residency.
"I don't have a problem with that," two of those also lunching at the restaurant said, "no, that shouldn't matter because that's where his job was, he resides here."
Not exactly, say election experts with ties to other candidates.
"He has not complied with the qualifications for office under the municipal code of the state of Illinois," Burt Odelson, a veteran election law attorney told CBS 2 Monday night.
Within hours of Odelson's claim appeared a kind of rebuttal on Emanuel's ChicagoforRahm.com website.
When asked why he wanted to deal with it on his website, Emanuel said, "There's some facts out there and I wanted to lay out the facts. But I'll tell you this, not one person in the last two days I've met, and I've had a cross section, has brought this up. The only people doing this are the politicians."
CBS 2 found that Emanuel's residency seems to satisfy key questions, including:
Does he own a home in Chicago? Check.
Pays Chicago property taxes? Check.
Votes in Chicago elections? Check.
Has a Chicago driver's license? Check
And perhaps most important: "Illinois election code section 3-2, which protects people like Rahm Emanuel, says you shall not lose your residency so long as you are doing business for the federal government," said Mike Kreloff, election law attorney.
The law also protects those on assignment out-of-state for Illinois or the military.
A residency challenge wouldn't come until after petitions are filed. The Board of Elections would then investigate and make a ruling, which could then be appealed in court.
CBS 2 Political Producer Ed Marshall contributed to this report.
