Bill Clinton reunites with Chicago pals as he raises cash for Hillary
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Bill Clinton and Smita Shah reunite at Shah's home for a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton.
Bill Clinton kicked off a flurry of fundraising events for his presidential candidate wife,Hillary Clinton, today, including one at the home of Smita Shah, CEO of Chicago-based Spaan Tech.
“This isn't just politics. It's about family,” Shah said of the Clintons, whom she has known since she interned in the White House office of the chief of staff, answering phones and filing paperwork two doors down from then-President Clinton's office.
The former president also was among familiar faces earlier in the day when he toured the offices of 1871 with CEO Howard Tullman, a longtime supporter of the couple. Clinton met with young entrepreneurs and took selfies at every turn. He followed that up with a fundraiser that included some 45 Chicago supporters, including Tullman, Pritzker Group co-founder J.B. Pritzker and ContextMedia founder Rishi Shah.
Pritzker, of course, was Hillary Clinton's national co-chairman in her 2008 campaign for president.
Some 100 guests gathered at the Lake Shore Drive home of Smita Shah and her husband, business consultant Maarten De Jeu, for the noon event featuring Clinton.
Among the guests were Hillary's high school pals Betsy Ebeling, Patsy Bowles and Cheryl Harbour.
Clinton spoke at length about his wife's accomplishments, from tackling education issues in Arkansas—“and she wasn't even an elected official”—to her work on health care while she was first lady, and helping small businesses while she was a U.S. senator.
He reminded the crowd that the campaign “is not a sprint. It's a marathon. But it's a fight. They aren't going to give it away.”
Hillary Clinton, former U.S. secretary of state, initially had been scheduled to attend but canceled due to a scheduling conflict—she appeared on NBC's "Tonight Show" last night, where she was interviewed by Jimmy Fallon.
Today's fundraisers come a few days before a Sept. 20 rally in River North in support of Clinton.
Congresswomen Jan Schakowsky and Robin Kelly, state Attorney General Lisa Madiganand Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle are among more than a dozen high-profile leaders leading that event planned for Studio Paris Nightclub. Lifeway Foods CEO Julie Smolyansky, who has been promoting the event on Facebook, will be there, too.
