John McDonough, the longtime president of the Chicago Blackhawks and the president of the Chicago Cubs before that, on June 27 sold his three-bedroom, 3,694-square-foot house in Wheaton for $970,000.
McDonough introduced numerous innovations during his 17 years with the Cubs, including the annual Cubs Convention and initiating the idea of a guest conductor singing the seventh-inning stretch after broadcaster Harry Caray’s death in 1998. McDonough’s greatest leadership successes, however, came during his tenure with the Blackhawks, which he led as president from 2007 until 2020 — a time when they won three Stanley Cup titles.
Through an opaque land trust that masks his identity, McDonough paid a little less than $855,000 in 2021 to buy the Wheaton house from its homebuilder, and he subsequently made many upgrades to it, according to listing information. Built in 2018 and located in the low-maintenance Loretto Club community, the home was used as that subdivision’s model home. It has 4-1/2 bathrooms, custom Hunter Douglas motorized blinds, a whole house sound system, an eat-in kitchen with an oversized island, a walk-in pantry, a first-floor primary bedroom suite with a custom shower, a first-floor den with built-ins, a second-floor entertaining space and a finished lower level with a gym, a bar area and a bonus room with a closet.
Outside on the 0.21-acre property is a covered deck.
McDonough told Elite Street in an interview that he sold the house to move back to Elmhurst, the town where he had lived before moving to Wheaton.
“My grandkids are in Park Ridge, and I’m very active with them, and I just wanted to get closer,” he said. “I think Wheaton is a wonderful, wonderful community, and I enjoyed it. The downtown area is spectacular, the people couldn’t have been nicer and the Loretto Club is a great place to live. The house sold quickly.”
Indeed, McDonough first listed the house in April for $1.049 million, and he went under contract to sell it just six days later.
McDonough called the drive from Wheaton to Park Ridge “a haul,” even more so with Interstate 294 under construction.
“It’s a haul from anywhere (right now),” he said. “This cuts the drive in half.”
McDonough said he became familiar with Wheaton in part because he has a family member living in the area, as well as a friend, former Cubs pitcher Dave Otto, who in January was named an assistant baseball coach at North Central College in Naperville.
Joseph Ratterman, who was one of two co-listing agents representing McDonough, declined to comment on the sale.
The house had an $18,103 property tax bill in the 2024 tax year. Homeowners association dues are an additional $155 a month.
Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.