By Gregory Korte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Former Cincinnati Mayor Jerry Springer, who moved to Chicago in 1993 to focus on his now-infamous television talk show, is moving back to the Queen City.

Springer's political aides confirmed Tuesday that Springer plans to make his home in the Cincinnati area - probably inside city limits - as early as next month. Springer previously lived in Mount Adams and Loveland.

Springer, 60, flirted with a run for the U.S. Senate last year, and has left his political options open. But aides said establishing an Ohio home isn't directly related to his personal aspirations.

"He's focused not on 2006, but 2004," said Columbus political consultant Dale Butland.

"After his exploratory effort was over, he said he didn't intend to walk away from Ohio," Butland said. "And he hasn't, if you look at his schedule every weekend."

In the last week, Springer has toured Ohio's college campuses in an effort to get out the vote for Tuesday's primary, although he hasn't endorsed a Democratic candidate for president.

With Springer spending so much time in Ohio - and planning to spend more through November, when the state could decide the presidential election - a move back to Cincinnati makes sense from a "practical, convenience standpoint."

When taping of his talk show resumes in the fall, Springer will commute to Chicago - as he did when he pulled double duty as anchor for WLWT in the early '90s.

While making clear that Cincinnati would be Springer's "legal residence," Butland said he knows of no immediate plans for Springer to give up his homes-away-from-home: a $1.3 million house in Sarasota, Fla., and a condo in the John Hancock building in Chicago.

E-mail gkorte@enquirer.com