WASHINGTON--First Lady Michelle Obama's Chief of Staff Tina Tchen hits Chicago Wednesday for fund-raisers benefiting the Obama re-election drive at her former law firm and at the home of long-time friend and early Obama backer Marilyn Katz.

Tchen appears at Skadden Arps--where she had been a partner-- in the afternoon and then heads over to Lincoln Park for the event co-hosted by Katz, Bettylu Saltzman who holds an important place in Obama history, attorney Paul Levy and Steven Koch, a vice-chairman and co-chairman of Credit Suisse's Merger and Acquisitions Group.

Saltzman is the Democratic activist who years ago spotted a young Barack Obama as a comer and told political consultant David Axelrod he should meet with Obama. In March, 2010, Obama appointed Koch a member of the Recovery Independent advisory board.

Donations for the Katz event range from $500 to $5,000.

Tchen makes her second visit to Chicago in two weeks. Last week, she returned home for the memorial service at the University of Chicago honoring the late Dr. James Bowman, the father of White House senior advisor Valerie Jarrett.

Tchen, I'm told is doing the fund-raisers on personal time. In the 2008 campaign, Tchen was a "superbundler" who raised at least $200,000 for the campaign.