PEORIA - President Bush spent a second day this week traveling to raise money for Republicans, all out of public view.

On Friday, the fundraiser Bush headlined was in Central Illinois to help Republican Aaron Schock in his race for the House seat being vacated by longtime GOP Rep. Ray LaHood. Schock's opponent is Democrat Colleen Callahan.

The lunchtime event was at Weaver Farms outside Peoria. Donors paid $500 each to attend, or $5,000 to get a table and a picture with Bush. The total amount raised was not provided by the campaign or the White House.

Bush's remarks were private, with no media or members of the public allowed, and he held no other events while spending the bulk of his day traveling to Illinois and back to Washington.

The itinerary was strikingly similar to Bush's on Tuesday, when he traveled to Georgia for another closed fundraiser.

White House press secretary Dana Perino suggested that the high number of closed events was in part due to a desire by the White House to keep the limelight off Bush and on the GOP's likely nominee to replace him, John McCain.

"Yes, there have been a couple of closed press fundraisers. There have been many,'' she said. "But remember he's not on the ballot. Senator John McCain aspires to be the leader of this party, and we intend to make sure that the light can fully shine on him, as it should, as he heads into the last 90 days before the election.''

When Air Force One landed, Bush was greeted by a group that included Schock, Peoria County state's attorney candidate Darin LaHood, East Peoria Mayor Dave Mingus, Eureka Mayor Scott Punke and retired longtime Harrison Primary School Principal Aurthur Perkins.

Perkins met Bush on a previous trip to Peoria, when he visited her school.

"He said, 'Are you still there?' and I said 'No, I'm retired,' and he said, 'I will follow you in six months,''' Perkins told the (Peoria) Journal Star.

Before boarding the plane to leave, Bush waded into a crowd and shook hands, kissed babies and signed a few autographs.