Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts has stepped down after nearly four years as the finance chair of the Republican National Committee.

       Ricketts, who also was finance chair of former President Donald Trump’s reelection committee, was replaced by Trump’s ambassador to Spain, Richard “Duke” Buchan III, at a meeting of Republican National Committee members on Friday.

       Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts watches a Loyola Ramblers basketball game against the Missouri State Bears at Gentile Arena on Feb. 3, 2018, in Chicago. (John J. Kim / Chicago Tribune / Chicago Tribune)

       Ricketts, who lives in Wilmette and is part of his family’s ownership of the Cubs, said he was “privileged” to serve as national finance chair and having been entrusted “to advance our party’s values and promote our pro-growth, conservative agenda.”

       “I’m excited by all the Republican candidates we helped elect during my tenure as well as the investments we made and the infrastructure we developed as a party,” Ricketts said in a statement. “I’m confident the RNC will continue to be an outstanding organization to serve Republicans across the country and I look forward to continuing to help the cause.”

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       Ricketts took on the party finance role after withdrawing as a potential deputy commerce secretary in the Trump administration because he was unable to unwind his family’s complex finances enough to satisfy the federal Office of Government Ethics.

       In February, Ricketts was reappointed to the party post he held since January 2018. He has often been mentioned as a potential GOP candidate for office in Illinois, though he has previously denied any interest in that.

       While his sister, Laura, is a Democratic activist, Ricketts, his father Joe, his mother Marlene and other family members have been strong financial supporters of Republicans and GOP aligned interests. His brother, Pete, is completing his second and final term as Republican governor of Nebraska.

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       Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts steps down as finance chair of the Republican National Committee

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