Rahm Emanuel's Washington D.C. rented residence (photo by Lynn Sweet)
Rahm Emanuel's car with Illinois plates in the driveway of his Washington residence (photo by Lynn Sweet)
WASHINGTON--While the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners on Monday started to hear challenges from folks trying to knock mayoral hopeful Rahm Emanuel off the ballot on residency grounds, I checked out his Washington rented home in the Woodley Park neighborhood, across the street from the Washington National Cathedral.
For those trying to make a case that Emanuel moved permanently to Washington: the car in his driveway has Illinois plates. According to the Illinois Secretary of State, the car, described as a "2009 Mercury" on Illinois records, is registered to Emanuel at his new Chicago address: 754 N. Milwaukee.
That's where Emanuel moved to because the home he owns at 4228 N. Hermitage was rented to one Rob Halpin after Emanuel relocated to Washington to serve as President Obama's chief of staff. The car title registration is still at the Hermitage address. The vehicle is leased to Emanuel, according to state records. The car was never registered anywhere else.
Halpin surprised everyone by filing petitions to run for mayor. On Monday, as my Sun-Times colleague Abdon M. Pallasch reports, Halpin dropped his bid for mayor.
Lynn Sweet is a columnist and the Washington Bureau Chief for the 
RSS feeds 
Email Lynn
Twitter
Facebook
Get Email Alerts:
I'm confused. There is currently a car in his DC driveway, and that car has Illinois plates?
Why is he still in DC if he didn't move there?
Keeping your plates registered in the state where you bought it saves money. Changing the registration is a pain, unless you have to do it. Keeping your original registration isn't a signal you still consider yourself as a resident of a state- it indicates you're trying to avoid registration fees and a trip to the DMV.