Illinois court says Emanuel can stay on Chicago ballot

White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel listens to U.S. President Barack Obama during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington June 23, 2009.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel can run for mayor of Chicago, the Illinois high court ruled unanimously on Thursday, overturning a lower court ruling earlier this week to exclude him.

Some residents of Chicago challenged Emanuel's residency, saying his stay in Washington, D.C. as President Obama's chief of staff disqualified him from running for mayor under residency rules. Emanuel had argued he always intended to return to Chicago after his U.S. service was over.

"This is a situation in which, not only did the candidate testify that his intent was not to abandon his Chicago residence, his acts fully support and confirm that intent," the court found, in a 7-0 opinion.

Emanuel had rented out his Chicago house while he was serving in the Obama administration. He also had left personal belongings in a storage space in the house.

Speaking at the start of a televised debate Thursday night, Emanuel said: "What I've always said is the voters should make the decision about who should be the next mayor." He said the court ruling allows voters to do that.

Emanuel had the support of 44 percent of Chicago voters in a recent Chicago Tribune poll, compared with 21 percent for his closest opponent, former U.S. Senator Carol Moseley Braun.

Braun said after the decision that with the legal battle over, she looked forward "to actually debating the issues" with Emanuel and the other candidates.

Emanuel has raised $11.8 million for his mayoral run, with donations from luminaries like film director Steven Spielberg.

The February 22 election is to replace long-time Mayor Richard M. Daley, who is stepping down after 22 years in office.

(Writing by Mary Wisniewski, Editing by Greg McCune and Jerry Norton)