VP-elect Mike Pence coming to Chicago for fundraiser

Vice President elect Mike Pence will host a luncheon fundraiser in Chicago next week, with Gov. Bruce Rauner and other Illinois Republicans serving on a host committee.

The $2,700-a-ticket luncheon at The Chicago Club, 81 E. Van Buren St., is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 30, according to organizers of the event. A $10,000 per couple ticket is also being offered; it includes a photo with Pence and lunch. And a VIP ticket, which includes a roundtable, photo opportunity and lunch is being sold for $33,400 per couple.

Rauner joins key fundraiser Ron Gidwitz, Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider, and U.S. Reps. Rodney Davis, Darin LaHood, Randy Hultgren, Peter Roskam, Adam Kinzinger, John Shimkus and Mike Bost on the host committee.

The governor isn’t scheduled to attend; he’s traveling out of state for the holidays. Although Rauner largely distanced himself from President-elect Donald Trump during the campaign, the governor does have some ties to the Trump campaign and administration. Gidwitz chaired Rauner’s campaign before leading fundraising efforts for Trump in Illinois. And Nick Ayers, who ran Rauner’s 2014 campaign, also led Pence’s vice presidential campaign.

Organizers called the Pence luncheon “an extraordinary, unexpected opportunity to engage with our next Vice-President and a person who is in the epicenter of everything.”