Maksym v. Board of Election Commissioners of the City of Chicago

242 Ill. 2d 303 (2011)

From our private database of 46,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Maksym v. Board of Election Commissioners of the City of Chicago

Illinois Supreme Court
242 Ill. 2d 303 (2011)

  • Written by Liz Nakamura, JD

Facts

In 1998, Rahm Emanuel, the former United States Representative for Illinois’s fifth congressional district, purchased a Chicago home, and he lived there consistently until January 2009. In January 2009, after being appointed to serve as the chief of staff for President Barack Obama, an inherently temporary position, Emanuel rented and moved into a home in Washington, D.C. (the D.C. home). Emanuel rented the D.C. home through June 2011, the latest expected end date for his term as chief of staff. After Emanuel’s family moved to join him in June 2009, Emanuel rented out the Chicago home through June 2011. Because the move to Washington, D.C., was temporary, Emanuel and his family left most of their personal belongings and furniture in their Chicago home. Emanuel continued to list the Chicago home as his permanent residence. In October 2010, Emanuel resigned as chief of staff and moved back to Chicago. Emanuel subsequently registered as a candidate for the February 2011 Chicago mayoral election. Walter Maksym, Jr. (plaintiff) filed a written objection to Emanuel’s candidacy with the Board of Election Commissioners of the City of Chicago (the board) (defendant), arguing that Emanuel failed to meet the residency requirement for the mayoral office because Emanual had not been a Chicago resident for a period of at least one year immediately preceding the February 2011 election. The board rejected Maksym’s challenge, holding that Emanuel never abandoned his Chicago residence because his move to Washington, D.C., was always intended to be temporary. On appeal, the circuit court affirmed. Maksym appealed, and the appellate court reversed, holding that residency was determined by where the candidate actually lived during the relevant period, not by the candidate’s permanent abode. The board appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Thomas, J.)

Concurrence (Freeman, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 815,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,300 briefs - keyed to 988 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership