An Illinois court ruled Rahm Emanuel ineligible to run for mayor of Chicago.
The state’s Appellate Court in a 2-1 decision ordered that Emanuel’s name be removed from the ballot.
Opponents of the former White House chief of staff had said his two years in Washington disqualified him from running because the city’s Board of Election Commissioners requires that a mayoral candidate live in Chicago for a year before the election, which takes place in February.
Emanuel, a former congressman who had worked in the Clinton White House, argued that he was exempt under a “national service” exception. He noted also that he maintained ownership of his Chicago home.
Two lower bodies, the Board of Election Commissioners and a Cook County court, had ruled in his favor.
Emanuel, who has an Israeli father, was leading in the polls. He may take the case to the state’s Supreme Court.
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