THE ILLINOIS supreme court is expected to accept a case involving Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama’s former chief of staff, as early as today or tomorrow.
Mr Emanuel resigned last October to stand for mayor of Chicago, which both he and Mr Obama call home.
However he suffered a serious setback yesterday when two of three judges on an appellate court overruled the Chicago board of election commissioners and a lower court to find him ineligible for the February 22nd poll on the grounds that he gave up residence in Chicago to work at the White House.
Mr Emanuel owns a house in Chicago but brought his wife and children to the capital and let his home while he was in Washington.
The court concluded that he did not meet the requirement to have resided in Chicago for the year preceding the election.
Mr Emanuel’s lawyers say they will appeal the ruling.
A colourful and abrasive former congressman who once sent a dead fish to a political opponent, Mr Emanuel is far ahead of the other five candidates in the race to lead America’s third largest city, both in opinion polls and in campaign finance.
With the help of his brother, a well-known Hollywood agent, he has raised $10 million.
A poll by the Chicago Tribuneon January 20th showed Mr Emanuel leading with 44 per cent of the vote.
His closest rival, African-American former senator Carol Moseley Braun, received 21 per cent of intended votes.
Until yesterday, the only suspense was whether Mr Emanuel would win more than 50 per cent of the vote on February 22nd or whether the race would go to a run-off on April 5th.
