"I'm getting sick of seeing and hearing from Bob Dold and his supporters that Dold is a lifelong resident of the Illinois Tenth District." So went the opening line in a Monday morning post over at Ellen's Tenth District Congressional blog. 

Residency has popped up more than a few times in this race, where Dold, a Republican, and Democrat Dan Seals are battling for the congressional seat left open by Mark Kirk's U.S. Senate bid. Seals' home is about a block and a half outside of the 10th; he's taken a few raps across the knuckles for where he lives. But what about Dold's home base? 

Between 1987 and 1999, Dold lived outside of Chicagoland, as an undergrad, a law student, and then during a stint in Washington, D.C., where he working for the House of Representatives.

Between 1988 and March 15, 2007 (when he switched his voter registration to the Kenilworth home he rents from his father for $10,000 annually), Dold maintained his voter registration at his family's Winnetka address, according to Courtney Greve, a spokeswoman for the Cook County Clerk's Office. For much of this stretch, that information isn't surprising; plenty of students and D.C. types continue to vote in their home districts. But it's after Dold returned to the area that the story becomes more complex.

In September 2002, Dold and his spouse jointly purchased a $680,000 home on the Northwest Side of Chicago (click here and search for "Dold"). The Cook County Assessor's Office told Progress Illinois yesterday that Dold's spouse was listed as the taxpayer of record for the property, which received four "homeowner's exemptions" from the assessor for the years 2003 through 2006, worth nearly $5,600 in all.

The "lifelong resident" of the 10th District indeed had moved "temporarily" to the city of Chicago, his campaign acknowledged in a written statement sent to Progress Illinois. "Bob and his wife’s decision to temporarily move to the city does not change his permanent residence, and the Cook County homestead exemption is for a principal residence for a year, not a permanent residence," the statement said.

But Dold continued to pull ballots in the North Shore, for the Republican Party, during his time in the city, according to the county clerk's office. The discrepancy has now been turned over to the State's Attorney's office for review.

The GOP candidate was a "permanent" resident of Winnetka until 2007, when he moved to Kenilworth, the statement said.

That is to say, he was a permanent resident of the suburbs, despite living in the city of Chicago in the middle years of the last decade, and reaping tax breaks on a property he bought with his wife, through the exemptions she received on their home on the Northwest Side. 

Even if Dold ultimately faces no legal actions for straddling the city and the 10th District, at very least the "life-long resident" of the 10th should be wary of casting stones toward Seals on residency matters. On this issue, Dold himself has lived in something of a glass house. 

You can read Ellen's 10th District Congressional Blog original piece about Dold's residency here and with follow-ups here and here.