108 Facts About Dan Cronin

Daniel J Cronin was born on November 7,1959 and is an American politician and attorney who served as county board chairman of DuPage County, Illinois from December 2010 until December 2022.

Dan Cronin received a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University and later graduated from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

Dan Cronin comes from a family that has been politically prominent in DuPage.

Dan Cronin supported cutbacks to taxes and government spending, and earned a reputation as a conservative Republican.

Dan Cronin then ran for the Senate during the 1992 elections.

Recent redistricting pitted Dan Cronin against Ted Leverenz, an incumbent Democratic senator, in what was considered one of the "liveliest and most bitter contests" of the election season.

Dan Cronin became chairman of the Senate's education committee, where he sponsored or debated several bills concerning reforms of Chicago Public Schools.

Dan Cronin sponsored legislation that restricted Medicaid funding for abortions, but the bill was vetoed by Governor George Ryan.

Dan Cronin's reforms included merging the county's election commission into the county clerk's office in 2019, with the approval of voters during a non-binding countywide referendum.

Dan Cronin's accomplishments included reducing the county's sales tax by 0.25 percentage points.

Dan Cronin decided not to run for re-election at the end of his term in 2022; he was succeeded by Democratic state representative Deb Conroy.

Dan Cronin was born on November 7,1959, in Elmhurst, Illinois.

Dan Cronin graduated from Immaculate Conception Grade School and Fenwick High School.

Dan Cronin earned a bachelor of arts degree from Northwestern University and a Juris Doctor degree from the Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

From 1985 to 1987, he served as legal counsel to Lee A Daniels, minority leader of the Illinois House of Representatives, where Cronin helped oversee the movement of legislation presented on the House floor.

From 1987 through 1989, Dan Cronin worked as a prosecutor in DuPage County, serving under Jim Ryan, the county state's attorney.

Dan Cronin worked alongside Joe Birkett, who would eventually become state's attorney in 1996 and Appellate Court judge in 2010.

Dan Cronin eventually became a senior partner at that law firm.

Dan Cronin is part of a large, Irish American, Catholic, Republican political family.

Dan Cronin then opened a medical practice in Chicago's west suburbs, and in 1960 the family moved from River Forest to Elmhurst.

Dan Cronin specialized in sports medicine, and was crucial to the recovery of John Huarte, who suffered an injury in 1964 while playing football at Notre Dame and later went on to play for the National Football League.

Dan Cronin retired from practicing medicine in the 1990s, but continued to manage the office building.

Dan Cronin subsequently helped Dan with his senate and county board campaigns.

Dan Cronin then received a Juris Doctor and a Master of Business Administration at the University of Chicago.

Dan Cronin took a leave of absence to work on campaigning during the 1994 elections, managing Ryan's successful campaign for attorney general and Gayle Franzen's campaign for DuPage County board chairman.

Dan Cronin earned $3,400 per month while serving as campaign manager for Franzen, who had turned to Tom and Dan for help in asserting Franzen's independence from party leadership.

At a forum between the two candidates, Dan Cronin asked a question attacking Birkett for accepting campaign contributions from criminal defense attorneys.

Dan's and Tom's sister, Cindy Cronin Cahill, was the first in the family to enter politics.

The Cronin family helped with canvassing, including Juliann, who had not yet married Dan.

Dan Cronin was elected to the county board during the 2022 elections.

Dan Cronin considered running for the General Assembly in 1986 and 1988.

Dan Cronin declined to wait at the 1990 elections, when he ran for the 40th district of the House of Representatives.

Dan Cronin touted an anti-tax platform, which appealed to voters, especially the conservative wing of the Republican Party.

Dan Cronin portrayed Hoffman as being aligned with special interests.

Dan Cronin criticized his opponent for supporting a temporary increase to state income taxes to fund education, suggesting that Hoffman was more interested in his dream job of becoming Illinois State Superintendent.

Dan Cronin positioned his campaign as a change from the incumbents, and he pledged to make government more responsive and accessible to the public.

Dan Cronin referred to Daniels, a Hoffman supporter, as "ineffective", and the relationship between Cronin and Daniels became strained.

Tom and Dan Cronin worked afterwards to further improve their relationship with Daniels.

Dan Cronin urged an audit of the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, and pledged to give the DuPage County auditor the authority to audit school districts and agencies of county government.

Dan Cronin supported amending the state constitution to provide for more referendums and to promote tax accountability.

Further, while Dan Cronin supported requiring a supermajority in the General Assembly to increase taxes, Kirkpatrick countered that the scheme would make it easier for a simple majority of the legislature to spend without being able to back it up with revenue.

Dan Cronin won the election and began his term in the House in January 1991.

Dan Cronin credited his victory against Hoffman for attracting statewide attention to rising property taxes.

Dan Cronin supported cutbacks to state programs and personnel, and sponsored legislation that capped property taxes in the suburban counties.

Dan Cronin touted his lengthy career as a state legislator for more than 16 years, and his pro-suburban record.

Dan Cronin, already being mentioned by observers as a possible candidate for statewide office in the 1994 elections, cast the race as a choice between a suburban conservative and a "wheeler-dealer" with ties to Chicago.

Dan Cronin was seen as a potential candidate for attorney general in the 1998 elections as Ryan, the incumbent, considered running for the US Senate.

Dan Cronin defended his actions by pointing to his record of supporting other projects outside his district.

Dan Cronin assumed this role at a time when Republican margins of victory in county races were getting slimmer.

In 1994, Dan Cronin supported a bill backed by Governor Jim Edgar that would have banned assault weapons, though the measure faced strong opposition from Philip.

Dan Cronin sponsored a bill attempting to reverse the Illinois Supreme Court's decision in the Baby Richard case and keep children with their adoptive parents.

Dan Cronin served as chair of the Senate's education committee and was regarded as a leading voice for Senate Republicans on education issues.

In 1997, Dan Cronin worked with several legislators to overhaul funding for public schools in Illinois, and supported Edgar's proposal to switch the burden from property taxes to income taxes.

In 1999, Dan Cronin sponsored a bill that would have removed the power of Local School Councils to fire principals without the approval of central administration, but postponed further action on the bill after it became controversial.

In 2007, Dan Cronin proposed a bill that would have reviewed the role and authority of Local School Councils, but the legislation did not move forward.

In 2000, Dan Cronin sponsored legislation that would have restricted Medicaid funding for abortions.

Dan Cronin sponsored a constitutional amendment to allow voters to recall elected officials, but the proposal was blocked by Senate Democrats.

Dan Cronin stepped down from the Senate on November 30,2010, after being elected to the county board.

Dan Cronin ran for chairman of the DuPage County Board during the 2010 elections.

Dan Cronin announced his candidacy at a Westin hotel in Lombard; over 300 supporters attended the event.

Dan Cronin won the primary, and faced Democratic candidate Carole Cheney, an attorney from Aurora.

In September 2010, Dan Cronin opposed the county board's decision to issue a large amount of bonds.

Later that month, the board voted to take away several powers from the chairman, which Dan Cronin saw as a reaction to the possibility of him winning the election.

Dan Cronin subsequently won the general election after receiving nearly 63 percent of the vote.

Shortly after taking office, Dan Cronin appointed Robert Berlin, a veteran prosecutor and chief of criminal prosecutions in the county, to succeed Birkett as DuPage state's attorney.

Dan Cronin, who does not vote unless there is a tie, raised concerns regarding the contract's vague terms, including its open-ended nature and lack of clear responsibilities.

Dan Cronin emphasized the importance of transparency and accountability in government contracts and successfully removed a confidentiality provision.

Dan Cronin highlighted that the current system diverts funds from essential services like flood control and affordable housing.

Dan Cronin described these pension arrangements as "outrageous" and unfair to taxpayers, especially those in the private sector facing economic uncertainty.

Dan Cronin attributed this surge to recent changes in employment benefits, specifically the scaling back of time-off policies aimed at saving the county up to $28 million over two weeks.

Dan Cronin believes that maintaining the old policy could have cost the county an additional $20 million in that timeframe.

Dan Cronin expressed support for ongoing pension reform discussions at the state level, acknowledging the financial pressures from pension benefits on government budgets.

In July 2011, Dan Cronin stepped down as chairman of the DuPage County Republican Party, prompting the executive committee to unanimously select State Representative Randy Ramey as his successor.

Dan Cronin, who had led the county Republicans since taking over from State Senator Kirk Dillard nearly four years prior, cited his heavy workload as DuPage County Board chairman.

Dan Cronin expressed concerns that dual office-holding prevented officials from adequately serving taxpayers.

Dan Cronin lamented that CTA was getting a greater share of discretionary funds compared to the region's other transit agencies, including Metra, echoing concerns that he had previously raised in 2012.

In 2011, Dan Cronin launched efforts to consolidate units of government in DuPage.

Dan Cronin worked with State Senator Tom Cullerton and other legislators to propose bills in the General Assembly that would have granted DuPage more authority over agencies whose officers are appointed by the county board.

In 2011, after Dan Cronin faced difficulties inspecting the finances of various agencies under his purview, Cullerton sponsored a bill requiring such agencies to provide documents and certain information to the county board.

In 2014, Dan Cronin helped form Transform Illinois, a statewide collaboration of elected officials, private organizations, and civic activists.

Meanwhile, around 60 board members of agencies under Dan Cronin's purview did not support these consolidation efforts, and either resigned or were not reappointed to their roles.

In 2015, Dan Cronin considered the dissolution of the Salt Creek Sanitary District.

Dan Cronin proposed merging the election commission into the county clerk's office, expected to save as much as an additional $300,000 annually.

Dan Cronin countered that the full county board would review and approve appointments to the election board, a power that the county board had not previously held.

Dan Cronin expected that salaries of the new election board to fall from the annual pay for commissioners at the time: $27,500.

Dan Cronin has suggested consolidating the county recorder's office, which is not a constitutional office in Illinois, with another county office or department.

Dan Cronin was challenged by Democratic candidate Robert Peickert, a former small business owner and chairman of the DuPage County Democratic Party.

Dan Cronin argued that the connections he formed while a state legislator help him secure funding for the county's stormwater projects.

Dan Cronin celebrated during a county board meeting by cutting one-fourth of a layer cake designed in the image of a penny.

Dan Cronin presented a balanced budget for fiscal year 2018, despite the challenges faced from a $2.7 million reduction in revenue.

Dan Cronin's budget allocated funds toward public safety, the DuPage Care Center, a new communications center for DuPage County Public Safety Communications, among other projects.

In September 2018, Dan Cronin joined a letter written by Curran, regarding an ongoing public health investigation of a sterilization plant in Willowbrook operated by Sterigenics International.

Amidst an attempt by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to withhold relevant pollution reports from the office of the Illinois Attorney General, Curran and Dan Cronin urged cooperation between Rauner and Attorney General Lisa Madigan to review the emissions permit previously issued to Sterigenics.

Later that month, Dan Cronin met with William Wehrum, assistant administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency for air and radiation, to urge increased monitoring of pollutants at the facility.

Dan Cronin ran for reelection in November 2018, and he was challenged by Democratic candidate Lynn LaPlante, principal violist for the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic.

Dan Cronin's campaign focused on his record of not raising property taxes on residents.

Dan Cronin resisted a request from Kaczmarek and several local chapters of the League of Women Voters to increase the budget for the clerk's office to $9 million.

Kaczmarek had requested additional funding to address anticipated record turnout in the 2020 elections, but Dan Cronin still considered it a "dramatic increase".

In July 2020, Democrats on the board criticized Dan Cronin for appointing Republican Sam Tornatore as the chair of the board's health and human services committee, passing over Democrat and committee vice-chair Julie Renehan.

In early 2021, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Dan Cronin criticized the state Department of Public Health for providing inadequate vaccine doses to DuPage.

For fiscal year 2022, Dan Cronin drafted a budget that took advantage of rising sales tax revenues while keeping the property tax rate unchanged.

Dan Cronin's appointment received unanimous approval by the County Board.

Dan Cronin reduced property taxes for the average DuPage County homeowner while providing pay raises for employees.

In September 2021, Dan Cronin announced that he would not run for re-election at the end of his term in 2022.

Dan Cronin supported Irvin, a candidate in the Republican primary, as a member of Irvin's law enforcement advisory council.

Dan Cronin endorsed Hart, who by then had moved to Hinsdale, to succeed him as board chairman during the 2022 elections.

Dan Cronin shared his plans to serve on nonprofit boards and remain politically active, using his campaign fund to support like-minded candidates.

Dan Cronin announced plans to continue working at his law firm, take a European vacation, and mentor young policymakers.