Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts expected to take RNC finance job
By Katherine Skiba
Todd Ricketts, shown in 2017, is under consideration to become the Republican National Committee's national finance chair, two sources told the Tribune. Ricketts is part of the billionaire family that owns the Chicago Cubs. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)
Todd Ricketts, part of the billionaire family that owns the Chicago Cubs, is poised to become the Republican National Committee's national finance chair, sources said.
The position has been open since Saturday, when Las Vegas casino magnate and major political donor Steve Wynn resigned from the post amid sexual misconduct allegations.
Ricketts has been chosen for the post, and a formal vote to install him is set for the RNC winter meeting. It kicks off Wednesday in Washington and runs through Saturday.
Ricketts, 48, wants to help the Trump administration, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., "in any way he can," said a source who has been in contact with RNC officials.
In November 2016 then-President-elect Donald Trump nominated Ricketts to be deputy secretary at the Commerce Department, but Ricketts withdrew his name from consideration in 2017 after concluding his family's business interests posed too many potential conflicts of interest.
Last year he was up for the presidency of the Heritage Foundation, which instead chose Kay Cole James to lead the conservative think tank.
Ricketts, of Wilmette, is an investor and the son of Joe Ricketts, the family patriarch who founded TD Ameritrade. Todd Ricketts sits on its board of directors and the Cubs' board.
He has managed his own personal investment portfolio since 2001, TD Ameritrade said in a filing to the SEC. He sits on the TD Ameritrade board. A major donor to Republican candidates and conservative causes, Todd Ricketts originally backed Wisconsin GOP Gov. Scott Walker for the White House, but his allegiance shifted as Trump tightened his grip on the nomination. One brother, Pete Ricketts is the Republican governor of Nebraska. Another, Tom, is chairman of the Cubs.
According to Bloomberg News, others who were in consideration for the RNC's national finance chair included Michigan fundraiser Lauren Rakolta, who is the niece of RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel, and Louis DeJoy, who is the RNC's national deputy finance chairman.
The Spin with Lisa Donovan Newsletter
Your essential take on local politics, delivered weekday afternoons.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Republican U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam of Wheaton said Tuesday he will be donating a $1,465 contribution Wynn made to his campaign in 2006.
The money will go to Family Shelter Service in Wheaton, which helps victims of domestic violence, spokeswoman Veronica Vera said. Wynn made the contribution to Roskam through a joint fundraising committee that helped 20 candidates altogether, she said.
Candidate vying to replace Cook County Clerk of Court Dorothy Brown files ethics complaint against rival for campaign funds
On Chicago's South Side, the sincerity of Pete Buttigieg's quest to gain support for his Democratic presidential bid from African Americans gets questioned
The Spin: Jeanne Ives' camp blames typo for campaign flyer gaffe | Mayor Lightfoot makes MLK call to action | Is former state Rep. Luis Arroyo pleading guilty?
Talk show host Dan Proft shuts down 2 PACs, including one that was once a multimillion-dollar platform to push conservatives
Illinois Senate to choose new leader Sunday, with veteran lawmakers Kimberly Lightford and Don Harmon emerging as front-runners
Over the weekend two Democratic candidates trying to oust Roskam, Kelly Mazeski and Amanda Howland, had called on Roskam to return the donation.
"Peter Roskam should stand up for Steve Wynn's victims by denouncing him and donating the money that Steve contributed to Roskam's campaign to help victims of sexual assault," Mazeski, from Barrington Hills, said.
kskiba@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @KatherineSkiba
Peter Roskam