President Biden comes to Chicago for fundraiser bringing in more than $2 million for reelection campaign

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President Joe Biden returned to Chicago on Wednesday to scoop up more than $2 million for his reelection bid, sources told the Sun-Times, tapping into the deep pockets of Democratic megadonors a month after collecting some $2.5 million at another fundraiser in the city.

Biden received a standing ovation from the 60 to 70 attendees when he entered the room at the Palmer House Hilton.

He spoke for 13 minutes, telling the crowd he was excited to be back in Chicago and looking forward to returning again for the Democratic National Convention in August.

“People here know that the president has to be successful in the Midwest to win the election and are all-in on making that W happen,” Tamar Newberger, the Illinois chair of the Biden campaign Midwest finance council, told the Sun-Times in an email.

Although there are lower-dollar events in the pipeline, the Wednesday fundraiser at the Palmer House for the Biden Victory Fund was aimed at megadonors: a $100,000 contribution was needed to be a “host”; $50,000 to be a “champion”; and $25,000 to be listed as an “advocate.” As in most big-dollar fundraisers, major contributors also get a photo with Biden.

Biden was last in Chicago on April 8, following a visit earlier in the day to must-win Wisconsin. There, he had attended both official and political events in the battleground state.

The flight on Air Force One from the Mitchell Field airport in Milwaukee — the city hosting the Republican convention in July — to O’Hare took only 16 minutes — but a distance of light years in politics, with Illinois a solid blue presidential state since 1992 and Wisconsin seesawing between Democratic and GOP presidential contenders.

Biden helicoptered to the Soldier Field landing zone on Marine One, where he was greeted by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Then, with the presidential motorcade heading to the hotel from Soldier Field, Chicago police blocked streets in the Loop, causing traffic jams. One driver told the Sun-Times it took 90 minutes to get from downtown to Hyde Park.

As the fundraiser continued inside the Loop hotel, pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrated outside.

The co-hosts of the Wednesday reception are Jane and Bob Clark; Tom Carnahan; and Susan and Bob Wislow, according to an invitation obtained by the Sun-Times. Clark, a major backer of Biden and former President Barack Obama, is the founder of Clayco, the construction firm.

Carnahan, a leader in the wind farm power industry, comes from a famous Missouri political family. Wislow, chief of Parkside Reality and a civic activist in Chicago, is a longtime Biden backer.

The Palmer House has a storied political history. The hotel served as Bill Clinton’s temporary headquarters during the 1992 primary when he won the Super Tuesday primaries and clinched the Democratic presidential nomination by winning the St. Patrick’s Day primary in Illinois.

 In 2013, Hillary Rodham Clinton, a Chicago native, held her first presidential fundraiser in her hometown in the same hotel.

Duckworth, Krishnamoorthi co-hosted DC fundraiser

On May 1, Illinois Democrats Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi co-hosted a fundraiser Biden headlined at a hotel in Washington targeting Asian American voters. The event was held on the first day of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and a source told the Sun-Times the haul was $1.1 million.

Duckworth introduced Biden. When the president came to the podium, he said, jokingly: "My name is Joe Biden. I work for Tammy Duckworth. Folks, I want to thank Tammy for that introduction — most of all, for her friendship and her partnership. And, Raja, your partnership and leadership in the House has been invaluable.”