CHICAGO _ White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney along with other Republican Party bigwigs are hosting a campaign retreat for donors in Chicago this weekend where guests are scheduled to attend a reception in the Cubs' office building next to Wrigley Field followed by a Cubs-Cardinals rivalry game, according to a representative for the Ricketts family, which owns the team.
Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts is a host of the invitation-only event. Ricketts also is finance chair of the Trump Victory Committee, which is a joint fundraising venture of the President Donald Trump's reelection campaign and the Republican National Committee. The retreat was first reported by Axios.
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts, another of the siblings who own the Cubs, is among the special guest speakers at the various gatherings scheduled throughout the weekend, according to a copy of the invitation posted online by Axios.
Most of the retreat is scheduled at the downtown Four Seasons Hotel, where attendees can sit in on the "Winning in 2020 Panel" or the "Messaging and the Media Panel."
An agenda for the event noted a Saturday afternoon Wrigley Field reception in a "Friends and Family" suite followed by a Cubs vs. Cardinals game. But Brian Baker, a representative of the Ricketts family, said Thursday afternoon that the reception will be at the American Airlines Convention Center in the Cubs' office building just next to the ballpark. Afterward, attendees who purchased tickets will attend a game in a specially reserved section. Baker said he didn't want to disclose where for security purposes.
In addition to Todd Ricketts, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel _ who will be in Chicago on Thursday for a state GOP fundraiser _ and co-Chair Tommy Hicks Jr. are serving as hosts of the Trump event, which kicks off Friday. There's no mention of whether the president also will be in attendance.
As previously reported, McDaniel will be at a local fundraising luncheon in Chicago on Thursday, according to an invitation sent out by the Illinois Republican Party and obtained by the Chicago Tribune. Ticket prices for that event range from $150 to $5,000. That event is being hosted by Todd Ricketts; Demetra DeMonte, an RNC national committeewoman; Richard Porter, an RNC committeeman; and Tim Schneider, chair of the Illinois GOP.
