CHICAGO — President Barack Obama was wrapping up a tour of the Big Three automakers and defending his decision to help them stay afloat by visiting a Ford Motor Co. assembly plant in his hometown.

Most of the president's time in Chicago today, however, will be spent raising some of the millions of dollars Democrats will need as they campaign to keep control of both houses of Congress in the fall elections.

Obama's tour of the Ford plant follows visits last week to General Motors and Chrysler facilities in Detroit, where he argued that his administration's unpopular $60 billion bailout of those two companies helped save jobs and turn around an industry that was on the verge of collapse more than a year ago.

He'll argue the case anew at Ford's assembly plant.

Ford, which did not accept federal bailout money, is adding 1,200 jobs and a second shift at the Chicago plant. The White House says that's possible in part because of $400 million in new Energy Department loan guarantees for companies that redesign their plants to make more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Ford's Chicago plant, which used to make the company's Taurus, will begin cranking out a redesigned, energy-efficient 2011 Explorer SUV that the company hopes to sell in more than 90 countries.

Obama also planned to touch on the auto industry's role in boosting U.S. exports. The president has set a goal of doubling U.S. exports over the next five years.