The Illinois Supreme Court ruled today that Rahm Emanuel can stay on the ballot for mayor of Chicago.

The decision comes without a moment to spare; early voting for the Feb. 22 city election begins Monday, Jan. 31.

The high court’s decision upholds/overturns a 2-1 Illinois Appeals Court decision Monday that ruled Emanuel ineligible on the grounds he did not meet the requirement of being a Chicago resident for a year before the election. Emanuel returned to Chicago last fall to run for mayor after serving as White House chief of staff to President Barack Obama.

Emanuel has enjoyed a wide lead over three other major candidates in two Chcago Tribune polls.

On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court put the appellate ruling on hold, restoring Emanuel temporarily to the ballot, and agreed to take the case. The justices did not want to hear arguments or receive new legal briefings from the attorneys on either side of the ballot dispute. Instead, they used the material the attorneys already filed at the appellate level.

About 300,000 ballots were printed Tuesday without Emanuel’s name on them until the Supreme Court weighed in with its order to keep Emanuel on the ballot at least temporarily. Those ballots were set aside and new ballots printed by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioner had Emanuel’s name on them.

Still, elections officials suggested that voters might want to wait a bit before casting an early ballot, given the uncertainty in the mayor’s race. Early voting runs Jan. 31 to Feb. 17.

(Source: Chicago Tribune)