Mitt Romney will attend a cocktail party at six this evening at a Gold Coast hotel. Tickets are just $2,500, although if you also want dinner the price creeps up to a minimum $25,000. Greg Hinz of Crain's Chicago Business says that, according to insiders, Romney "will collect something north of $3.3 million" for his campaign and for Republican party committees.

I'm envious. On a recent research trip to the Billy Goat, the $18 tab came to me, and my generous companions contributed something south of $4.

I checked StubHub for discount tickets to the Romney event without any luck, but no doubt there'll be scalpers with good deals on State Parkway.

But I'm going to vote with my feet and skip the Romney fund-raiser.

Republicans are big advocates of feet voting. Earlier this week Romney announced an education-financing plan that, he says, would make it easier for poor parents to vote with their feet for their children's schools. Wealthy parents presumably could participate as well, although they'd likely vote with their Lexuses.

We should remember in November that every toe counts.

I'm just glad the Cubs played this afternoon, so I won't have to vote with my elbows to get on the Red Line again this evening.