Hillary Clinton brings presidential campaign to Chicago

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton scooped up campaign cash in two high-dollar fundraisers on the North Side of her hometown Chicago on Wednesday, while earlier in the day she talked about child care at a South Side event.

She hit Chicago on Tuesday for the first of three fundraisers and wrapped up her third Wednesday night at the Astor Street home of one of her biggest backers, business executive J.B. Pritzker and his wife M.K. At the reception, Clinton, raised in Park Ridge, told the packed crowd of about 200 that she was born at the old Edgewater Hospital, which was torn down several years ago.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who served as a top adviser in the Bill Clinton White House — the former president attended his inauguration on Monday — was at the Pritzker fundraiser.

The Pritzker co-hosts included Lifeway Foods CEO Julie Smolyansky and insurance exeutive Andrew Boron.

Before that, Clinton was at the Lincoln Park home of retired media executive Fred Eychaner, with about 100 participants. Cubs board member Laura Ricketts was a co-chair.

The tab for an individual at either of these fundraisers was $2,700; hosts and co-host had to raise at least $27,000.

Earlier on Wednesday, Clinton discussed paid family leave and related topics at a small roundtable sponsored by the Service Employees International Union. The SEIU runs the Centers for New Horizons’ Effie O. Ellis Early Learning Center in Bronzeville. Reporters were allowed to observe about the first 10 minutes of the event.

Clinton, who made her second White House run official last month, has been holding a series of roundtables in this first phase of her campaign, with the SEIU stop intended to throw a focus on bolstering families.

The former secretary of State said the country must change the way child care has been funded, adding that out-of-pocket costs have soared 20 percent during the past 10 years.

She said she’s “embarrassed” the U.S. has no paid family leave for new parents. She said she visited 112 countries as secretary of state and the U.S. is among nine of the countries that had no paid family leave.