CHICAGO, Ill. -- Secret Service agents, bomb-sniffing dogs and police cordons usually mean a high-level politician or dignitary is nearby.

For the residents of a certain Kenwood enclave, it also means the neighbors are back in town. That was the scene Sunday evening on a certain stretch of Greenwood Avenue here as President Obama hosted some of his closest, $40,000 check-wielding friends for the first-ever fundraiser at his home.

Yuri Gripas / AFP - Getty Images

President Barack Obama walks through the Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago on Sunday.

Standing in a corner of the front yard of his classic Georgian-style brick home, the president greeted around 75 supporters sprawled out on his manicured green lawn, the lushness of which the president commented on.

“I have to say, the lawn hasn’t looked this good in a while. But I figured, but at least Michelle figured, that if everyone was coming over we ought to neaten up a little bit,” he said.

Speaking from a small stage that was surrounded with a small hedge, the president made light of the fact that he was once again asking his deep-pocketed donors to pony up.

“Being friends with a politician is a little bit like having a child perpetually in college because every so often you’ve got to write a big check. The good news is I’m about to graduate,” he joked as the crowd laughed.

But the comic asides did contain a serious undertone – that Obama is locked in a brutal spending war with his Republican rival Mitt Romney, and is currently being outspent.

Paul Ryan welcomed home with massive rally in Wisconsin

He cautioned his guests that the next three months of the campaign were not going to be easy, referring to, as he has frequently in recent appearances, the Olympics to make a campaign analogy. 

“I just want to remind you this is not going to be a race like Usain Bolt where we’re like 40 yards ahead and we can just start jogging 10 feet before the finish line,” Obama said, name-dropping the famed Jamaican sprinter. “We’re going to have to run through the tape.”

After the quick stop at his own home, the president went back to once again being a guest as he attended two more fundraisers, both at homes in his neighborhood but none that could be called the Family Home of the United States.

Slideshow: As it happens: Obama's fourth year in office

Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP

The president's fourth year at the White House in pictures — follow along as it happens.

Launch slideshow

Mitt Romney's campaign raised $33 million in June, according to its Federal Election Commission filing on Friday, accounting for about a third of the $106 million Republicans had boasted raising last month.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee's haul was his largest monthly total to date, but fell well short of the $46 million raised by President Obama's campaign during the same period.

Two weeks ago, the Romney campaign boasted its Victory Committee -- a combination of the campaign, the Republican National Committee and state committees -- had raised $106 million in June. Today's finance report reflects the likelihood that this total was boosted by a large number of high-dollar contributions to Romney and his allies versus a larger number of small-dollar donations that are seen as indicative of grassroots support.

For the month of June, the Obama campaign reported receipts of almost $46 million in June, making up well over half of the $71 million it had previously announced raising jointly with the Democratic National Committee.

The Obama team spent over $58 million in June, though, with one of the largest expenses being television ads bolstering the president and criticizing Romney over his private sector career and scant release of tax records.

Likewise, the largest single expense for the Romney campaign was its advertising efforts. The campaign disclosed having spent $10.4 million dollars on so-called "placed media," FEC-speak for television and radio ad buys.

Also reflecting the advantages of raising money as an incumbent president, the Obama campaign reported having $97.5 million in the bank as of June 30. The Romney campaign ended June with $22.5 million in cash on hand.

The dueling June reports reflect a better apples-to-apples assessment of the Obama and Romney campaign's respective finances.

That said, the massive fundraising effort orchestrated by Republicans last month -- one that is likely to continue through July -- helps bring the GOP's overall mechanisms into parity with Democrats, if not somewhat of an advantage.

The Obama campaign also released on Friday the list of its bundlers through the end of the second quarter. The Romney campaign does not release the names of its bundlers.

Updated 3:53 p.m. - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has joined forces with the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) to launch a fundraising committee aimed at helping to pay off the millions of debt owed by his erstwhile presidential campaign while also helping active GOP candidates for Congress.

A committee, "Solutions Start in the House," registered with the Federal Election Commission at the end of May. Proceeds from the joint committee are split between Newt 2012 and the NRCC. The next fundraising stop for the committee is coming up in Nevada.

"The goal of this venture is to raise money for candidates running for the House but also to  pay down our own debt," Gingrich spokesman, RC Hammond, told NBC News. "We want to pay off the debt off as fast as possible but we are realistic that it will take a few years to pay down the debt."

After Gingrich withdrew from the presidential race in early May, FEC reports showed he was nearly $4.8 million in debt. As of last month, the campaign still owed slightly more than $4.7 million.

Hammond says this partnership with the NRCC is just one of the avenues Newt 2012 is using to pay off the debt. Gingrich has also been traveling to various states to host small luncheons and receptions on his own to raise money and the campaign has been renting their email and mail lists in addition to Solutions Start in the House.

Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney has not directly helped Gingrich pay off any debt but the former speaker has attended at least two known fundraisers with Romney in Georgia and Nevada that could have brought new funds to Newt 2012.

According to a source close to many of the creditors, the campaign set up long term deals with many companies owed money back in May that they would make monthly payments. The payments came for the month of June, the source says, but not for July.

There is still a long way to go, Hammond admitted, but said they were trying to be "proactive." Creating this group with the NRCC, fell in line with Gingrich's desire to help create a conservative platform for the GOP ticket and encourage a greater majority in the House of Representatives.

Adding to his visibility, the former Speaker will also appear on The Tonight Show this Wednesday.