President Joe Biden will visit several locations in the Chicago area on Wednesday, but Mayor Lori Lightfoot will not be in town, according to her office.
Lightfoot campaign officials say that the mayor is scheduled to travel to Texas on Tuesday, and plans to be in the Lone Star State through Sunday.
"These trips are planned for months. I wouldn't read anything into it," a spokesperson told NBC 5.
A presidential visit often gives the local leaders a chance to discuss one on one what’s needed –even if briefly -- from the federal government.
Wednesday will mark the first time Biden has been in the city limits since his election. He will give remarks at a farm in Kankakee, then will attend several events in the city, according to his itinerary.
The president's previous visits were to the Chicago suburbs.
While the mayor usually greets the president at the airport, this time it will be Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, according to officials.
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Preckwinkle’s spokesman says she adjusted her schedule once the White House advised her of the president's visit.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is expected to join the president later in the afternoon, but will not attend Biden's speech in Kankakee, where he is expected to highlight the rising prices of fertilizer and point to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Ukraine is the nation’s chief supplier of farm fertilizer, according to the White House.
Later in the afternoon, Biden will also speak at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers' convention at McCormick Place. He will also attend a Democratic National Committee fundraiser before leaving the city.
