He's only been in town a few times since taking office, but this week President Obama returns to his adopted hometown of Chicago to kick off his re-election campaign with some Windy City fundraisers.
The president will get into town Thursday afternoon, and head to Navy Pier for a "fundraising kickoff" in Navy Pier's Grand Ballroom. The event is the cheapest of three DNC fundraisers Thursday, costing between $100 and $250 per person. The Chicago Tribune reports that Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose will also attend the Navy Pier event.
Also on Thursday, the president will attend a $35,800-per-person dinner MK Restaurant and another dinner at N9NE Steakhouse, with tickets ranging from $5,000 to $15,000. He will reportedly spend the night in his Hyde Park home before heading back to the White House on Friday.
Obama's re-election team, including advisor David Axelrod and campaign manager Jim Messina, have already checked out the Obama 2012 digs at One Prudential Plaza near Grant Park.
"It's nascent group and it's going to grow," said Axelrod, who stopped by the offices recently. "You could sense, you could feel some of that old excitement coming back and you know people are really eager to get going."