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(s)Elections See other (s)Elections Articles Title: Roland Burris and Emanuel renter join mayoral circus Senator's supporters file to get him on ballot as 1 of 20 hoping to succeed Daley November 23, 2010|By John Chase, Tribune reporter Bounced out of the U.S. Senate, Roland Burris landed in the middle of the race for Chicago mayor Monday when a group of supporters filed petitions to place him on the ballot just before the deadline. The last time Burris heeded the siren's call of a draft movement for mayor, he got less than 40 percent against Mayor Richard Daley in 1995. When Burris said he might be drafted in 2008 for the U.S. Senate, Gov. Rod Blagojevich made him his controversial choice to fill the former seat of President Barack Obama. It was unclear whether Burris would actually run this time, but his tentative step into a field of 20 candidates for mayor was the final act in a circus on the last day to enter the Feb. 22 city elections. Also filing for mayor was the tenant who refuses to leave Rahm Emanuel's house, forcing the former White House chief of staff to find another home in his bid to replace the retiring Daley. It added up to a classic Chicago political scene at the city Board of Election Commissioners in the basement of 69 W. Washington St. as candidates showed up in dramatic fashion with stacks of petitions just before the doors closed. In a calm moment that belied the rest of the afternoon, state Sen. James T. Meeks, the South Side pastor, officially entered the race, filing what his attorney said were 50,000 signatures on ballot petitions. City election officials said the mayoral field is the largest in more than 50 years. But it almost certainly will shrink. Every candidate's petitions are subject to challenges and it's likely many will be contested by the Nov. 30 deadline. A minimum of 12,500 signatures of registered Chicago voters are required. Challenges will be heard by the election board in December, though any decisions will be subject to appeal in the courts. The election board also can toss candidates if their petitions clearly do not conform to the law. Burris' supporters said they delivered nearly 20,000 signatures. Chicagoan Toni Randle, a longtime Burris friend, said the outgoing senator knew of the efforts and wouldn't promise to run — but he didn't stop it either. "He kind of chuckled and said if this is what the community wants to do then by all means go for it," Randle said. "I think he will eventually bow to the will of the people. If the people want Roland Burris to be mayor then he will run for mayor." Burris signed the statement of candidacy that was filed with the petitions and is weighing whether to run, a spokeswoman confirmed. Burris did not return telephone calls for comment. Burris, 73, has faced nearly two years of controversy since accepting the Senate appointment from Blagojevich after the then-governor was charged with peddling the seat for personal and political gain. Tagged with large legal debts and no campaign money, Burris declined to run for the Senate seat. He is about to be replaced by Republican Sen.-elect Mark Kirk, who won the Nov. 2 general election and a court-ordered special election to finish the last weeks of Obama's term While a Burris run seems unlikely, his candidacy could alter the political math among the top tier of contenders for mayor, which in addition to Meeks and Emanuel includes former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, former Chicago Board of Education President Gery Chico, U.S. Rep. Danny Davis and City Clerk Miguel del Valle. Before Burris' supporters arrived, industrial developer Rob Halpin showed up dressed sharply in a suit and with his wife, Lori, to declare that he too had enough signatures to be on the ballot for mayor. Halpin briefly gained national attention when he refused Emanuel's request to cut short his lease on the former congressman's Ravenswood home. Halpin acknowledged people encouraged him after that publicity but insisted he is only running to address the city's problems. "People approached me and they thought I would be a good mayor," Halpin said. "There's no denying that some people met me as a result of being there (at Emanuel's house), but it's very coincidental." Halpin's candidacy serves as a reminder of Emanuel's residency, an issue that is expected to be the subject of a challenge Wednesday from attorney Burt Odelson, who filed Meeks' candidate petitions but says he is handling the Emanuel challenge on behalf of unnamed clients. Candidates are required to have lived in Chicago for a year before Election Day and Emanuel was working for Obama in Washington until recently. Emanuel says he remains a Chicago resident because he continues to own a home here, has voted here and intended to move back. Odelson said the fact he rented his home to Halpin means he isn't a resident. "Unless they're all sleeping in the house together," Odelson said of Emanuel and Halpin, "I think only one can be a resident of that house." In other city races, Ald. Sandi Jackson, 7th, was one of about 350 candidates to file petitions for City Council. But she also filed to run for the open city clerk post and will have to decide which race to drop.
Poster Comment: Forgot to keep your tenant happy, Rahm.
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#1. To: Prefrontal Vortex (#0)
I'm originally from Illinois. Both of these guys are a joke.
"If ever this vast country is brought under a single government, it will be one of the most extensive corruption, indifferent and incapable of a wholesome care over so wide a spread of surface. This will not be borne, and you will have to choose between reform and revolution. If I know the spirit of this country, the one or the other is inevitable." - Thomas Jefferson
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