A strong case
Wednesday, Nov 13, 2013 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As we’ve already discussed, the Illinois Republican Party is taking a look at Paul Vallas’ residency status. Burt Odelson told Phil Kadner pretty much the same thing that he told me yesterday…
Since 2007, the Vallases have owned a house in Palos Heights, although some people question whether Vallas actually lives in Illinois — having spent years in Philadelphia, New Orleans, Haiti, Chile and most recent Connecticut, where he’s superintendent of the Bridgeport schools.
“He most certainly is a resident of Illinois,” said Burton Odelson, an Evergreen Park election attorney who filed an unsuccessful residency challenge against Rahm Emanuel when he ran for Chicago mayor two years ago.
“The difference between Paul and Rahm is that Paul still owns his home in Palos Heights, at 125th and Nashville, and sleeps there when he’s not in Philadelphia, Haiti, New Orleans or wherever,” said Odelson, who quickly added that he’s an attorney for Quinn’s campaign for re-election.
“He (Vallas) pays property taxes on the house. Income taxes in Illinois. Has always maintained his voter registration and driver’s license here,” Odelson said. “Rahm couldn’t even get into his house because he was renting it out. He didn’t have a key. He paid taxes in Washington, D.C.
“Paul’s wife and two sons live in Palos Heights (the Vallases have three sons). But the fact is none of that really matters any more because the (Illinois) Supreme Court decision basically said home is where the heart is. All the residency requirements that used to exist, and there were a laundry list of them, no longer exist because of that decision (in the Emanuel case).”
Odelson said he wouldn’t be surprised if someone challenged Vallas’ residency in court, but “they’re not going to win.”
* Meanwhile, the thing to always remember about the Chicago media is that it’s always about the mayoral angle…
Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday applauded Gov. Pat Quinn for choosing proven “education reformer” Paul Vallas to be his running-mate and said he’s not at all concerned that Vallas could some day run for mayor.
“I supported the governor before he made this decision. I’m going to support the ticket in the upcoming election. And he’s picked somebody [who] has been an education reformer,” the mayor said.
“Paul Vallas has been a leader in Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia and Bridgeport, Ct. in education reform, bringing both accountability and choice in education. That has been, I think, something that’s been important. And the governor made the decision to pick Paul Vallas based on his record as being a strong advocate for education reform.”
Emanuel was asked whether he’s concerned about Vallas challenging him in a 2015 race for mayor if he and Quinn lose the 2014 race for governor.
Chicago, you’ll recall, has a one-year residency requirement. Vallas currently lives in the suburbs, so he’d have to move into the city before February 24th, 2014, which is about a month before next March’s statewide primary.
Highly doubtful, to say the least.
Move along, nothing to see here.
* Vallas himself was dismissive of the idea…
Mr. Vallas did rule out a future race for mayor of Chicago, though the prospect of a race between him and incumbent Mayor Rahm Emanuel enthralls some reporters.
“The only mayor’s race I could run for is mayor of Palos Heights,” where he has maintained his legal residence despite stints running schools in Philadelphia, New Orleans and Bridgeport, Conn. “No, I’m not running.”
- Chicago Cynic - Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 9:42 am:
Oh cmon! The press is bored out of their minds with the lack of a Dem primary. They were promised a nasty Quinn/Madigan fight and got zippo. So it’s hard to blame them for wanting to invent a “Paul Vallas is running for Chicago Mayor meme.”
- Soccermom - Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 10:05 am:
Burt Odelson is lauding the Emanuel residency decision. Am I the only one laughing?
- olddog - Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 11:21 am:
So the mayor is injecting local issues of school “accountability” and “choice” into the state election? He sounds very nice, but he’s using recognized code words here for standardized testing, teacher bashing, charter schools and give-aways to private corporations. This has been going on for a long time, and it looks like it’s about to take a turn for the worse in Illinois if we’re not careful. Read Diane Ravich. Read David C. Berliner and Bruce J. Biddle, “The Manufactured Crisis: Myths, Fraud and the Attack on America’s Public Schools” (1996). If anything, corporate “school reform” has made things worse in the last 20 years.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Manufactured-Crisis-Americas-Schools/product-reviews/0201441969
- Jeff Trigg - Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 11:21 am:
There’s still time for the Democrats to change the election law for Vallas just like they did for Bush in 2004.
- Statesman - Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 12:21 pm:
Quite a ‘double-down’ by Rahm. If Quinn wins- he wins- if Rauner wins- he wins. Only in Illinois! Land of Obummer!
- Just Observing - Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 1:15 pm:
=== “Rahm couldn’t even get into his house because he was renting it out. He didn’t have a key.” ===
I doubt that’s true. I’m sure Rahm didn’t give up all his keys…. what landlord would do that?
- Formerly Known As... - Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 2:35 pm:
Odelson? That is hilarious.
The same legendary Burt Odelson who contended that Rahm Emanuel was not a resident based on nearly identical criteria?
- A guy... - Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 2:48 pm:
Just Observing– What makes you think Rahm couldn’t get into the house without a key?
- bored now - Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 3:01 pm:
not that burt odelson would necessarily know (but he should have): you don’t have to live in the jurisdiction of washington, d.c. to pay washington, d.c. taxes. you have to *work* in the district of columbia. they don’t care where you live…
- Fearless Freep - Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 5:36 pm:
According to my sources in the Quinn camp, his first choice was Mike Bakalis, an “old” name with solid credentials as a reformer and an educator. But Bakalis declined, so Quinn went with Vallas as a backup.
- fake county chairman - Wednesday, Nov 13, 13 @ 7:13 pm:
Does a person have to live in their residence more than six months in a year.To make their signature valid on a petition for a person running for office.
- Publius - Thursday, Nov 14, 13 @ 8:23 pm:
Residency is based solely on your mental state of mind. All the factors that Odelson mentions, taxes, where you are registered to vote, etc., is only relavent to establish one’s state of mint as to their residency. In this case I think those factors are immaterial because as I understand it vallas asserted under oath that he was a resident of Bridgeport Connecticut in his residency case for superintendent of Bridgeport schools. That should conclusively establish that he believed he was not a resident of Illinois and all other factors are immaterial. That is where this case differs from rahm, rahm never fought to be a resident of DC as vallas did in Connecticut. Repubs would serve themself well to get the transcripts from vallas’ Connecticut case.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Nov 14, 13 @ 8:25 pm:
=== because as I understand it vallas asserted under oath===
I’m not so sure he did.
- Publius - Thursday, Nov 14, 13 @ 8:39 pm:
I think he has problems, if you get that transcript from judge Barbara Bellis’ court room