We acted as trial counsel and appellate counsel for then-candidate Rahm Emanuel in the litigation challenging his qualifications to run for Mayor of Chicago. Objectors to his candidacy claimed that he did not satisfy the City’s one-year residency requirement because he had been living temporarily in Washington, D.C. while working as Chief of Staff to the President of the United States. The case was tried before a Hearing Officer of the Chicago Board of Elections and then was appealed to the Cook County Circuit Court, the Appellate Court, and the Supreme Court of Illinois. The Supreme Court of Illinois unanimously reversed the Appellate Court, and affirmed the Hearing Officer’s recommendation that Mr. Emanuel was qualified to run for Mayor. Maksym v. Board of Elections Commissioners, 242 Ill. 2d 303 (2011). Four weeks later, he was elected Mayor. Michael Forde also advised the Emanuel campaign and transition team on a broad range of legal and other issues.
