Switching now back onto the topic:
The legalistic side of me says that the residence law is pretty simple, and Emanuel needs to live IN CHICAGO for a year before he runs. His lawyers were trying to transmute the voters registration law into candidate law, and this is what the court decision rejected.
The cynical side of me says that the notorious Chicago political machine has handpicked Emanuel as their candidate and that the courts will somehow set aside the law. His lawyers are doing an emergency appeal today to prevent the city from printing ballots with his name missing.
It is, in my opinion, sort of a stupid law - how does just living there one year prove you are not a carpetbagger? Having said that, it also is a clear indication that Rahm is exactly what I have always thought - a self-centered political partisan who thinks he is above the rules.