Rahm Emanuel Back on Ballot for Chicago Mayor’s Race; Ill. Supreme Court Stays Appellate Ruling

Developing: After a brief setback yesterday, when an Illinois appellate court ruled that he could not run for Chicago mayor this year because he doesn’t meet residency requirements, Rahm Emanuel is back on the ballot. The Illinois Supreme Court today stayed the appellate court’s order yesterday that Emanuel cannot be…

Jan 25, 2011 7:09 PM CST

Divided Appeals Court Nixes Ex-Obama Aide’s Bid to Run for Chicago Mayor; He’s Not a City Resident

Updated: After two lower-level wins, a former top aide to President Barack Obama was booted from the ballot for the upcoming Chicago mayor’s race, as a divided Illinois appellate court panel today held that Rahm Emanuel did not meet a required one-year residency requirement. This is not expected to be…

Jan 24, 2011 6:41 PM CST

DeLay Gets 3 Years in Political Contributions Case, Blames Lawyers and Accountants

Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was sentenced to a three-year prison term today by a Texas judge in a conspiracy and money-laundering case concerning $190,000 in corporate political contributions he routed to help elect Republications to the state legislature. However, the the Texas Republican refused to apologize to…

Jan 10, 2011 9:37 PM CST

Ex-Obama Aide Remained a Chicago Resident, Stays on Ballot for Mayor’s Race, Judge Rules

Asked to overturn an administrative ruling that determined the former White House chief of staff for President Barack Obama remained a resident of Chicago while he worked in the nation’s capital and hence is qualified to run for election as the city’s mayor, a state-court judge in Illinois has instead…

Jan 4, 2011 9:19 PM CST

Judging the Judges: Landmark Iowa Elections Send Tremor Through the Judicial Retention System

Jan 1, 2011 6:59 AM CST

Supreme Court Tosses Suit Claiming US House Isn’t Big Enough

The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered dismissal of a lawsuit that claims the U.S. House of Representatives should be larger. In a summary disposition (PDF), the court vacated a federal ruling and ordered the suit dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, SCOTUSblog reports. A special three-judge panel had upheld the current…

Dec 13, 2010 4:13 PM CST

Civil Rights Commission Accuses DOJ of Stonewalling Reverse Racism Probe

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has released an interim report that accuses the U.S. Justice Department of stonewalling an investigation into the DOJ’s handling of a voter intimidation case against the New Black Panther Party. The Justice Department failed to turn over critical documents about its decision-making process and…

Dec 7, 2010 11:30 AM CST

Supreme Court to Hear Challenge to Publicly Funded Arizona Elections

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review two cases challenging Arizona’s system of public financing for political campaigns. The court will review a provision of the law that gives candidates extra public dollars when their privately funded opponents spend more, according to the Arizona Daily Star, Bloomberg News and…

Nov 29, 2010 4:18 PM CST

Rangel Should Be Censured, Recommends House Ethics Committee

By a 9-1 vote, a Congressional ethics panel has recommended that U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-NY, be censured for ethics violations. It is now up to the full House of Representatives to decide whether to accept the punishment recommended by the House ethics committee, which it is expected to decide…

Nov 19, 2010 12:45 AM CST

Ad for ‘eLarmony.wrong’ Part of $800K Campaign that Helped Oust Iowa Justices

Spending on TV advertising in state supreme court elections totaled $12 million this year, with an unprecedented amount of money pouring into retention elections, including the election in Iowa that resulted in the ouster of three justices. About $4.6 million was spent this year in high-court retention elections in Illinois,…

Nov 3, 2010 4:29 PM CDT

Election Roundup: 3 Top Iowa Judges Defeated for Retention After Gay Marriage OK

In a first-time-ever rejection of sitting Iowa Supreme Court judges for retention, state voters have nixed three justices at the polls following their approval last year of same-sex marriage. With more than 90 percent of the state’s precincts reporting results from yesterday’s election, the three had gotten only about 45…

Nov 3, 2010 12:00 PM CDT

4 Chicago Election Judges Arrested; Prosecutor Sorry for Profane Voice Mail in Sib’s Campaign

Updated: Four Chicago election judges were arrested today, including two who were allegedly drunk, one who was accused of yanking a provisional ballot out of a voter’s hands and another claimed to have groped a female election judge, reports Fox News. A Chicago Sun-Times article provides more details about the…

Nov 3, 2010 12:31 AM CDT

Production Company Promised ‘Morgan Freeman’ Ad, But Used Voice Double

A Republican congressional candidate who asserted that Morgan Freeman had narrated his attack ad against the incumbent says a contract gave him the wrong impression. The candidate, B.J. Lawson of North Carolina, had issued a press release on Monday stating that the commercial was indeed narrated by Morgan Freeman, the…

Nov 2, 2010 1:21 PM CDT

Election Roundup: Expected Close Contest May Keep Lawyers Busy

As Republicans appear to be positioned to make significant gains in today’s election, which is expected to draw a large turnout, some Tea Party voters may have a decision to make: If they wear gear such as party T-shirts or the group’s “Please ID Me” buttons to the polling place,…

Nov 2, 2010 12:45 PM CDT

Election Roundup: Judge Who Is Sib of Gubernatorial Candidate Allegedly Involved in Sign Dispute

As election day nears, political campaign sign wars are at white heat. Among those at whom the finger is pointing is a New Hampshire judge and brother of a Republican candidate for state governor who has been accused of threatening a Democratic campaign volunteer for putting up signs, according to…

Nov 1, 2010 4:52 PM CDT