WASHINGTON--Business executive Penny Pritzker, expected to be tapped by President Barack Obama to be Commerce Secretary, on Thursday quit her seat on the Chicago School Board.

Pritzker was the finance chair for Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and an early supporter of his political career. Pritzker's ability to raise early major money for Obama's White House run--when he was locked in a battle with Hillary Rodham Clinton--made his candidacy viable.

Sun-Times City Hall Reporter Fran Spielman has the story HERE.

She submitted her resignation in a brief letter to Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama's former chief of staff. Quitting governmental boards --and severing ties to business enterprises --are necessary for a cabinet appointee. Pritzker would have to be confirmed by the Senate.