It looks like it will be a Rahm-less ballot http://online.wsj.com/article/SB100...130640810992.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLETopStories We'll see if the Illinois Supreme Court can be bought off.
For the record, I think it's garbage that Emanuel isn't allowed to run. The reason he left Chicago was that he took a job with the Federal Government. He votes in Chicago, as does his former boss. He owns a house in Chicago, as does his former boss. If he would have left his house vacant instead of renting it, he would have qualified. Leaving your home location to work in the Federal Government shouldn't disqualify you from going back and running for local office. All of the above being written, however, my Schadenfreude cannot be stopped. So, I'm giggling a little over this mess.
And the pets. Never forget the pets. True story: A few years ago just for fun, I checked my voter registration in Chicago (I had left six years earlier), and I was still on the rolls.
Why wouldn't you be? Did you tell them you moved? Do you want big government to track your movements so that their records can be updated? How much would that cost? barfo
So the only reason he was kicked off the ballot was because he rented his house out. Hahahahahaha!! Insert stereotypical Jew joke here!
I think he should be allowed to run. The law is silent about people serving the country in ways other than in the military, and he did go serve the commander in chief as his #1 assistant. If people are asked to serve the president, they have to temporarily (even up to 8 years) move to D.C. Renting out his property to make some cash to help pay his bills there shouldn't disqualify him. My $.02
He might not have filed because he's a right-wing nutcase who doesn't believe in taxes. [Just a hypothetical, I'm sure maxiep pays his taxes] Or he might not have filed because he didn't have any income those years. I don't think there is information sharing between voter registration and the tax collectors. I could be wrong, though. barfo
There are other ways to determine residency. Federal tax return, driver's license, gas/electric/water bill, mail delivery, death certificates, prison records, traffic records, etc. Whether they do or not, they should so there's less chance of voter fraud. Heck, if they just checked the death certificates and pet licenses, there'd be a lot of "voters" disqualified.
Considering that you regularly rant against big government, I think it is a little odd that you are proposing a significant new government bureacracy here. I personally don't care if all the branches of government share information with each other, but some would say that's taking away our precious liberties. barfo
Well, there can't be a tax paid to be eligible to vote, but they could simply make you register for each election and make that process as painless as possible. At the time you register, you prove residence. Anyhow, the decision is here, and it's as tortured a bit of reasoning as the "there's no right to bear arms" one. http://www.state.il.us/court/Opinions/AppellateCourt/2011/1stDistrict/January/1110033.pdf
And he's back!...At least for the moment http://www.google.com/search?q=Eman...&resnum=4&ved=0CD4Q5QUwAw&fp=825ff5a8c2a77a3b
He also changed his primary residence to Virginia in order to not pay the higher IL tax rates. Rented out his house and didn't pay IL state taxes = resident?
Cancelled drivers licence. No City of Chicago, Cook County or Illinois State taxes paid. Cancelled electric, gas, phone, cable and sewer bills. As an aside, I also checked my residency in DC, VA, NYC and CO (where I had moved my residency temporarily before I moved it back to OR). All of them had somehow managed to take me off the voting rolls. Are you saying that DC and NYC have a more effective city government than Chicago? That's a bold statement.
He's back! http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com...ision-in-emanuel-mayor-case-coming-today.html Supreme Court: Emanuel on Chicago mayor ballot UPDATED at 5:28 p.m. by Liam Ford and Jeff Coen with Supreme Court unanimous, Emanuel greeting commuters, Chico comment; will be updated; The Illinois Supreme Court ruled today that Rahm Emanuel can stay on the ballot for mayor of Chicago. The decision comes without a moment to spare; early voting for the Feb. 22 city election begins Monday, Jan. 31. Opinion here
It probably violates the letter of the law, but follows the spirit of it. Good for Illinois. Carol Moseley Braun would be a disaster.
