Hillary Clinton in Chicago today for rally, fundraisers

SHARE Hillary Clinton in Chicago today for rally, fundraisers

WASHINGTON – Hillary Clinton brings her presidential campaign to her native Chicago on Wednesday for three fundraisers and a get-out-the vote rally at 11 a.m. in Bronzeville, aimed at African American – especially female – voters. Clinton will appear with the mother of Sandra Bland, the Naperville woman found hanged in a Texas jail cell following an arrest for a traffic stop.

Clinton will be introduced by Bland’s mother, Geneva Reed-Veal.

As I reported in my Tuesday column, Clinton’s appearance at the Parkway Ballroom, 4455 S. King Dr., in the historic African American community is part of her extended outreach to black voters – including a major policy speech delivered Tuesday in Harlem. Clinton’s campaign highlighted this Illinois statistic in advance of her Chicago speech:

Illinois has one of the widest discrepancies among students punished, with Chicago issuing 32 suspensions per 100 African American students but just five per white students, African American students accounting for 74% of school-based arrests despite making up just 45% of the school population, and 27% of school-based arrests being for simple battery, suggesting widespread arrests were occurring for fighting.”

Clinton is hitting Chicago again in advance of the March 15 Illinois primary, with early voting in the state starting last Feb. 4. Clinton faces a tight race with Bernie Sanders in the Saturday Nevada caucus while holding a lead as the Democrats head to the Feb. 27 South Carolina primary.

Clinton, born in Chicago, raised in Park Ridge, was on the South Side last May, for a roundtable where she discussed paid family leave and related topics at a small gathering sponsored by the Service Employees International Union. The SEIU runs the Centers for New Horizons’ Effie O. Ellis Early Learning Center in Bronzeville. She also headlined three fundraisers for her presidential campaign that day.

As I’ve been reporting, here are the details on the three Clinton fundraising events today:

*At 12:30 p.m. At the Chicago home of Sabrina and Antonio Gracias. Antonio Gracias is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Valor Equity Partners, the private equity firm he founded in 2001 He is also a friend of J.B. Pritzker, one of Clinton’s chief fund-raisers. The cost for this event is, $2,700 which includes a photo with Hillary.

*At 4:30 p.m. a funder hosted by attorney Joe Power billed as a “Conversation with Hillary,” with a $27,000 raise needed to host; $10,800 raise for co-hosts.Contribute or raise $5,400 per couple in primary dollars includes a photo with Clinton. At the $27,000 tier, also get a reception with Clinton and membership on her finance committee.

*In the evening, at Venue One, 1034 W. Randolph, a funder hosted by Brandy Isaac, Barbara Goodman Manilow, Dania Leemputte, Amalia Mahoney, Joan Sears, Amy Singh, and Julie Smolyansky

Co-Hosted by Chanel Coney, Katrina Markoff, Fawzia Mirza and Nabeela Rasheed, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, and Jason Scher

Background: A host, Amalia Mahoney, was the Director of Galeria Amalia Mahoney art gallery in Chicago, is a major Democratic donor. President Barack Obama thanked her by appointing her in September, 2013 to be a trustee at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. A co-host, Katrina Markoff, is the chocolatier who founded Vosges. Markoff is a co-host along with her husband, Jason Scher.

The tab: Hosts at the Venue event are supposed to raise at least $27,000.

As I also earlier reported, the Clinton campaign has lined up Illinois Democratic heavy hitters for her delegate slate. A sampling of the Chicago-area Clinton delegate slates shows among the elected officials: Cook County Board President Toni Precwinkle, Chicago Treasurer Kurt Summers, state Sens. Kwame Raoul, Mattie Hunter, Jacqueline Y. Collins and Terry Link, state Reps. Sara Feigenholz; Jack Franks, Linda Chapa Lavia, Lou Lang, Mary Flowers and Barbara Flynn Currie, and from the City Council, Ald. Leslie Hairston.

Among activists and operatives are Lauren Beth Gash, Anna Valencia and Rick Garcia.

Among the wives of elected officials are Caroline Rush, the wife of Rep. Bobby Rush; Soraida Gutierrez, wife of Rep. Luis Gutierrez; Aesook Byon, the wife of Rep. Bill Foster, and Shirley Madigan, wife of Illinois House Speaker and state Democratic Party Chairman Michael Madigan.

Earlier, the Clinton campaign announced the Illinois Democratic party activists who are pledged to her as super delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

They are

· Alderwoman Carrie Austin

· Former Congressman Jerry Costello

· State Senate President John Cullerton

· CEO of Scoutahead Rajiv Fernando

· Young Democrats of America DNC National Committeeman John Keller

· Educator Jayne Mazzotti

· Secretary-Treasurer and UFCW International Vice President Steven Powell

· Chicago Cubs Co-owner Laura Ricketts

· State Senator Carol Ronen

· Cook County Recorder of Deeds and Vice Chair of Illinois Democratic Party Karen Yarbrough

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