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Ending a flurry of legal maneuvers that injected unwelcome last-minute confusion into Chicago鈥檚 mayoral race, the Illinois Supreme Court gave former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel the green light to continue his campaign for mayor of the city.

In a unanimous 7-0 ruling issued late Thursday afternoon, the court reversed a 2-1 decision by the Illinois Appeals Court Monday that threw Mr. Emanuel鈥檚 name off the ballot.

At issue was whether or not Emanuel qualified as a Chicago resident under a state law that required anyone vying for public office in Illinois to reside in the municipality in which they were seeking office for at least one year. Emanuel, who holds a commanding lead in the polls, returned to Chicago in October after serving as President Obama鈥檚 chief of staff for two years in Washington.

Since the Monday ruling, about 300,000 ballots were printed without Emanuel鈥檚 name. However the state Supreme Court had ordered that the printing stop until it could decide on the matter.

The high court ruling put to rest concerns about Justice Anne Burke and whether or not she should recuse herself from the process due to a potential conflict of interest. Justice Burke鈥檚 husband is Chicago Alderman Edward Burke, a staunch critic of Emanuel鈥檚 and a supporter of candidate Gery Chico, a former chief of staff to current Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley.

In the ruling, Justices Burke and Charles Freeman added a footnote opinion that said that while they voted with their fellow justices to overrule the lower court decision, they disagreed with the reasoning, writing that 鈥渢his case is in no way as clear-cut as the majority makes it out to be.鈥� They wrote that the issue of residency remains vague under state law and that 鈥渢he only thing that is well established in this case is the confusion that has existed on this subject.鈥�

They defended the lower court鈥檚 decision, saying the appellate court was forced 鈥渢o reconcile [the Illinois Supreme Court鈥檚] conflicting pronouncements on the question of residency.鈥�

'Court did the best it could'

鈥淭hat court did the best it could without the benefit of a supreme court opinion which clarified the standards,鈥� they wrote. 鈥淏y refusing to acknowledge the role our own case law has played in creating the dispute before us, the majority unwittingly adds credence to the inflammatory statements鈥� made by Illinois Appellate Court Judge Bertina Lampkin in her dissenting opinion.

In that opinion, Judge Lampkin described the majority as deciding on its result 鈥渙ut of thin air鈥� and with 鈥渃areless disregard for the law鈥� and based on the 鈥渨hims of two judges.鈥�

鈥淚n other words, the dissenting justice accused the majority of basing its decision on something other than the law,鈥� Burke and Freeman wrote.

According to a Chicago Tribune/WGN poll released last week, Emanuel is enjoying a 44 percent lead over his opponents. Former US Sen. Carol Moseley Braun was in second place with 21 percent.

The four leading candidates are participating in a television debate Thursday night. Emanuel celebrated the decision by greeting rush hour commuters on an EL station stop in the downtown Loop.

'Circus' instead of a debate

In a statement released soon after the decision, Chico said 鈥淓manuel鈥檚 residency drama has made this election into a circus instead of a serious debate about the future of Chicago鈥� and that voters will 鈥渃hoose their next mayor based on the candidates鈥� track records and their vision.鈥�

Chicago City Clerk Miguel del Valle, who is also a candidate, said in a statement that he is 鈥済lad this question has finally been resolved鈥� and called the issue 鈥渁 real distraction.鈥� He invited Emanuel to participate in the weekly community forums that are held throughout the city, saying he has been absent at a total of 16 to date.

Early voting starts Monday and the election is three weeks later, on Feb. 22.