Chicago mayoral election, 2011

The city of Chicago, Illinois held a nonpartisan mayoral election on Tuesday, February 22, 2011. Incumbent Mayor Richard M. Daley, a member of the Democratic Party who has been in office since 1989, did not seek a seventh term as mayor.^[1]

Candidates needed to collect 12,500 petition signatures by November 22, 2010 to qualify for a place on the ballot.^[2] April 5, 2011 was scheduled to be a runoff election date if no candidate received an absolute majority.^[3][4]

Rahm Emanuel won the race for mayor with more than 55% of the vote.^[5] He was inaugurated on May 16, 2011.^[6]

Candidates

Six candidates appeared on the February 22 ballot:

• Gery Chico, former chief of staff to mayor Richard M. Daley and former chairman of the City Colleges of Chicago
• Miguel del Valle, City Clerk of Chicago and former Illinois State Senator
• Rahm Emanuel, former White House Chief of Staff and former U.S. Representative from Illinois's 5th district
• Carol Moseley Braun, former U.S. Senator from Illinois and former United States Ambassador to New Zealand
• Patricia Van Pelt Watkins, non-profit administrator and activist
• William "Dock" Walls III, community activist and former aide to mayor Harold Washington

Nominating petitions were filed for 20 candidates in November 2010.^[7] In the initial review of the petitions by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners on December 6, 2010, three candidates, Ryan Graves, M. Tricia Lee, and Jay Stone, were removed from the ballot for submitting insufficient numbers of signatures or duplicate signatures, although they had the right to seek reconsideration of the decision.^[8] Rob Halpin, businessman and tenant of Rahm Emanuel, withdrew from the election on the same day.^[8] Tom Hanson was removed by the Board of Election Commissioners on December 13, but filed a complaint in Circuit County Court Chancery division seeking reversal of the Board's decision, for being contrary to Illinois Election Code, Section 10-8, but was not reinstated.^[9][10] Former U.S. Senator from Illinois Roland Burris withdrew from the race on December 17, 2010.^[11] State Senator James Meeks ended his bid on December 23, 2010, the deadline for candidates to not appear on the ballot.^[12]

Danny K. Davis, U.S. Representative from Illinois's 7th district, withdrew on December 31, 2010, to support Carol Moseley Braun, in an attempt to unite voters behind a single major African American candidate.^[13]

Assemblies of God congregation leader Wilfredo De Jesús dropped out of the race on January 7, 2011, and endorsed Gery Chico.^[14]

Real estate broker John Hu was removed from the ballot by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners on December 29, 2010.^[15] On January 11, 2011, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners removed three additional candidates whose candidacies were challenged and finalized the election ballot of six candidates.^[7]

Eligibility

On January 24, 2011, Rahm Emanuel was removed from the ballot by the Illinois First District Appellate Court in a 2–1 decision. Emanuel's eligibility had been previously confirmed by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners and a judge of Cook County. Emanuel appealed the case to the Supreme Court of Illinois.^[16] Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times criticized the ruling in editorials as "startling arrogance and audaciously twisted reasoning" and "pinched interpretation of the law [that] ignores the lawmakers' obvious intent".^[17][18] On January 25, 2011, the Supreme Court of Illinois issued a stay of the appellate court's ruling that Rahm Emanuel should be removed from the ballot.^[19] On January 27, 2011, the Supreme Court of Illinois, in a unanimous (7-0) decision, overturned the ruling of the Appellate Court and allowed Emanuel to stay on the ballot.

Campaign

On September 23, 2010, Miguel del Valle became the first candidate to launch a television commercial in the mayoral race.^[20]

Rahm Emanuel announced his resignation as White House Chief of Staff on October 1, 2010, and went on to announce his mayoral candidacy on October 3.^[21] According to the Chicago Sun-Times, two Chicago election lawyers stated that Illinois municipal code requires mayoral candidates to reside in the town for a year before the election, making Emanuel ineligible to hold the office.^[22] On December 23, 2010, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners unanimously rejected the challenge to Emanuel and ruled that he was a legal resident of Chicago.^[23]

The editorial pages of Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times endorsed Rahm Emanuel on February 4, 2011.^[24][25]

Polling

First round

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Ed Burke	Roland Burris	Gery Chico	Bill Daley	Tom Dart	Danny K. Davis	Miguel Del Valle	Rahm Emanuel	Bob Fioretti	Luis Gutiérrez	Jim Houlihan	Jesse Jackson, Jr.	James Meeks	Carol Moseley Braun	Terry Peterson	Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins	William Walls	Other	Undecided
McKeon & Associates / Chicago Sun-Times (report)	September 8, 2010	600	± 4.3%	–	–	6%	–	12%	–	–	7%	3%	9%	3%	8%	10%	–	4%	–	–	3%	35%
We Ask America (report)	September 2010	2,365	?	6.31%	–	–	8.16%	13.66%	–	–	29.68%	2.95%	12.81%	2.30%	13.36%	8.21%	–	2.55%	–	–	–	–
Chicago Teamsters Joint Council 25 / Anzalone Liszt (report)	November 8–14, 2010	?	± 3.7%	–	–	10%	–	–	14%	4%	36%	–	–	–	–	7%	13%	–	–	–	–	–
We Ask America (report)	November 23, 2010	2,255	± 2.06%	–	2.40%	8.86%	–	–	7.29%	4.78%	39.00%	–	–	–	–	5.16%	12.33%	–	–	–	1.47%	18.72%
Greenberg Quinlan Rosner (report)	December 1–8, 2010	1,020	± 3%	–	1%	9%	–	–	10%	8%	43%	–	–	–	–	7%	11%	–	–	–	2%	7%
Chicago Tribune (report)	December 10–13, 2010	721	± 3.6%	–	–	9%	–	–	9%	3%	32%	–	–	–	–	7%	6%	–	–	–	–	30%
We Ask America (report)	December 20, 2010	2,239	± 2.07%	–	–	11.78%	–	–	6.63%	6.09%	43.83%	–	–	–	–	3.63%	7.78%	–	–	–	3.91%	16.35%
Chicago Teamsters Joint Council 25 / Anzalone Liszt (report)	January 4–6, 2011	500	±4.4%	–	–	10%	–	–	–	7%	42%	–	–	–	–	–	26%	–	–	–	–	–
Chicago Tribune/WGN (report)	January 15–19, 2011	708	±3.7%	–	–	16%	–	–	–	7%	44%	–	–	–	–	–	21%	–	1%	2%	–	9%
We Ask America (report)	January 24, 2011	2,308	±2.05%	–	–	14%	–	–	–	4%	52%	–	–	–	–	–	11%	–	–	–	–	16%
Richard Day Research (report)	February 3–7, 2011	600	±4%	–	–	14%	–	–	–	8%	54%	–	–	–	–	–	6%	–	–	–	3%	15%
NBC Chicago / Victory Research (report)	February 10–12, 2011	?	±3.46%	–	–	16.1%	–	–	–	9.6%	44.8%	–	–	–	–	–	22.5%	–	0.9%	1.1%	–	5.0%
We Ask America (report)	February 13, 2011	2,252	± 2.06%	–	–	23.72%	–	–	–	10.39%	58.21%	–	–	–	–	–	6.04%	–	0.97%	0.67%	–	–

Runoff

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Danny K. Davis	Rahm Emanuel	Carol Moseley Braun
Chicago Teamsters Joint Council 25 / Anzalone Liszt (report)	November 8–14, 2010	?	± 4.3%	33%	54%	–
				–	55%	32%
Chicago Teamsters Joint Council 25 / Anzalone Liszt (report)	January 4–6, 2011	500	±4.4%	–	53%	31%

Results

Mayor of Chicago 2011[26] (General Election)
Party		Candidate	Votes	Percentage
	Nonpartisan	Rahm Emanuel	323,546	55.25%
	Nonpartisan	Gery Chico	140,362	23.97%
	Nonpartisan	Miguel del Valle	54,342	9.28%
	Nonpartisan	Carol Moseley Braun	52,483	8.96%
	Nonpartisan	Patricia Van Pelt Watkins	9,604	1.64%
	Nonpartisan	William "Dock" Walls III	5,291	0.90%
Voter turnout			100.00%

See also

• Mayor of Chicago

References

1. ^ Webber, Tammy (September 7, 2010). "Chicago Mayor Daley won't run for re-election". Yahoo! News. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100907/ap_on_el_st_lo/us_chicago_mayor. Retrieved 7 September 2010. 
2. ^ Cillizza, Chris (November 15, 2010). "Jeb Bush rules out presidential run — for now". The Washington Post. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/morning-fix/-1-2-republican-joe.html. Retrieved November 15, 2010. 
3. ^ "Puerto Rican Vying to Be Chicago’s First Hispanic Mayor". Latin American Herald Tribune. http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=365848&CategoryId=14092. Retrieved September 10, 2010. 
4. ^ Reiss, Dawn (September 9, 2010). "Who Wants to Be Next Mayor of Chicago?". Time. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2016991,00.html. Retrieved September 10, 2010. 
5. ^ Davey, Monica (February 22, 2011). "Rahm Emanuel Elected Mayor of Chicago". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/us/chicago-mayor-election.html. 
6. ^ Mack, Kristen; Heinzmann, David (February 23, 2011). "Rahm Emanuel wins Chicago mayor race". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/la-naw-chicago-election-20110223,0,6238685.story. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Dardick, Hal; Mack, Kristen (January 11, 2011). "It's down to six candidates on Chicago mayoral ballot". Chicago Tribune. http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2011/01/its-down-to-six-candidates-on-chicago-mayoral-ballot.html. Retrieved January 14, 2011. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Chase, John; Mack, Kristen (2010-12-06). "Election board knocks three off mayoral ballot; Emanuel challenges also being heard". ChicagoTribune.com. http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2010/12/rahm-emanuel-ballot-challenges-to-be-heard-today.html. Retrieved 6 December 2010. 
9. ^ "Chicago Activist William Kelly Offers Statement at Emanuel Residency Hearing". ChicagoNow. December 18, 2010. http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/publius-forum/2010/12/chicago-activist-william-kelly-offers-statement-at-emanuel-residency-hearing.html. Retrieved December 21, 2010. 
10. ^ Circuit Court of Cook County following Tom Hanson's judicial petition to reverse the Election Board of Commissioners' decision
11. ^ Pallasch, Abdon M. (December 18, 2010). "Burris withdraws from mayoral race". Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/2900444-418/burris-mayor-chicago-race-attended.html. Retrieved December 19, 2010. 
12. ^ Mack, Kristen (December 23, 2010). "Sen. James Meeks drops bid for Chicago mayor". Chicago Tribune. http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2010/12/sen-james-meeks-drops-bid-for-chicago-mayor.html. Retrieved December 24, 2010. 
13. ^ Rozek, Dan; Pallasch, Abdon M. (December 31, 2010). "Davis to drop out of mayor’s race, support Braun: source". Southtown Star. http://southtownstar.suntimes.com/news/3105973-418/davis-braun-friday-race-strength.html. Retrieved January 1, 2011. 
14. ^ Chase, John (January 7, 2011). "Latino mayoral candidate drops out, endorses Chico". Chicago Tribune. http://newsblogs.chicagotribune.com/clout_st/2011/01/latino-mayoral-candidate-drops-out-endorses-chico.html. Retrieved January 9, 2011. 
15. ^ Coen, Jeff; Sweeney, Annie (December 29, 2010). "Braun vows to dump Weis". Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-12-29/news/ct-met-chicago-mayor-race-1230-20101229_1_carol-moseley-braun-police-superintendent-jody-weis-police-force. Retrieved January 3, 2011. 
16. ^ Pallasch, Abdon M. (January 24, 2011). "Rahm Emanuel booted off ballot in 2-1 Appellate Court decision". Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.suntimes.com/3469419-417/ballot-booted-court-emanuel-rahm.html. Retrieved January 24, 2011. 
17. ^ "Judicial arrogance". Chicago Tribune. January 24, 2011. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-01-24/news/ct-edit-rahm-20110124_1_appellate-judges-justices-residency. Retrieved January 25, 2011. 
18. ^ "Editorial: Rahm ruling a disservice to voters". Chicago Sun-Times. January 25, 2011. http://www.suntimes.com/3470538-417/court-emanuel-appellate-chicago-law.html. Retrieved January 25, 2011. 
19. ^ http://nationaljournal.com/politics/court-puts-emanuel-back-on-chicago-ballot-20110125
20. ^ Pallasch, Abdon M. (September 23, 2010). "Del Valle first mayoral candidate to launch commercial". Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/2740138,miguel-del-valle-mayor-commercial-092310.article. Retrieved September 25, 2010. 
21. ^ Dolak, Kevin (October 3, 2010). "It's Official: Emanuel for Chicago Mayor". ABC News. http://abcnews.go.com/US/rahm-emanuel-announces-chicago-mayoral-run/story?id=11788582l. Retrieved October 4, 2010. ^{[dead link]}
22. ^ Pallasch, Abdon M. (October 4, 2010). "Experts say Rahm Emanuel not a legal resident of city". Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/2769580,CST-NWS-vote04.article. Retrieved October 4, 2010. 
23. ^ Pallasch, Abdon; Spielman, Fran; Konkol, Mark (December 23, 2010). "Election board: Emanuel will remain on ballot". Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.suntimes.com/3002497-417/emanuel-morris-chicago-board-residency.html. Retrieved December 23, 2010. 
24. ^ "For mayor: Emanuel". Chicago Tribune. February 4, 2011. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-02-04/news/ct-20110204-mayoral-endorsement_1_mayoral-candidate-rahm-emanuel-pension-system. Retrieved February 9, 2011. 
25. ^ "Editorial: Rahm Emanuel for mayor". Chicago Sun-Times. February 4, 2011. http://www.suntimes.com/3568392-417/emanuel-mayor-chicago-candidate-chico.html. Retrieved February 9, 2011. 
26. ^ "Rahm Emanuel wins Chicago mayoral vote". CNN. February 23, 2011. http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/02/22/illinois.elections/index.html?hpt=T2. 

External links

• Candidate list from Chicago Board of Election Commissioners
• Chicago Mayor at OurCampaigns.com
• The Race for Chicago Mayor at the Chicago Tribune, with Mayoral Scorecard of candidate status
• Politics at the Chicago Sun-Times
• Meet the Candidates at Chicago Tonight
• Mayoral Election at ChicagoNow
• Hearing schedule for objections from Chicago Board of Election Commissioners
• Maksym v. Board of Election Commissioners of Chicago – Supreme Court of Illinois (January 27, 2011)

Official campaign websites

• Gery Chico For Mayor
• Del Valle For Mayor
• Chicago for Rahm Emanuel
• Carol Moseley Braun for Chicago
• Patricia Van Pelt-Watkins for Chicago Mayor
• Walls for Mayor