Hon. Dan Cronin

Hon. Dan Cronin

Dan Cronin won election to the office of DuPage County Board Chairman first in November 2010, and again in 2014, after serving in the Illinois General Assembly for 20 years. He brings his passion for fiscal accountability and efficient government to DuPage County, where he has cut the budget by more than $30 million and reformed costly employee benefits that will save $20 million over the next two decades. He has accomplished these significant cost-savings without raising property taxes or compromising service. Chairman Cronin is also committed to reducing the size, scope and cost of local government. Through his DuPage ACT Initiative (Accountability, Consolidation and Transparency), he introduced a comprehensive approach to reform dozens of independent taxing districts in DuPage County. To date, those reforms are estimated to save taxpayers a projected $100 million. In 2015 he was asked by Governor Bruce Rauner to serve on a statewide Task Force on Local Government Consolidation and Unfunded Mandates. Chairman Cronin assembled a coalition of civic groups, lawmakers and non-profits to form Transform Illinois (www.transformillinois.org), which aims to cut the size, scope and cost of local government throughout Illinois. As he engages with leaders across the state, Chairman Cronin advocates for DuPage taxpayers on regional issues such as infrastructure, public transit and economic development. He has been instrumental in obtaining federal grants to help fund the local share of the Illinois Tollway’s Elgin O’Hare Western Access project. This project of “national significance” is expected to relieve congestion, promote economic development and create new jobs. Chairman Cronin has also teamed up with regional leaders to help small and medium businesses capture export opportunities through Metro Chicago Exports. This collaboration between the City of Chicago along with Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry and Will counties will ensure businesses continue to prosper while enhancing the region’s global competitiveness. As a state legislator, Chairman Cronin served as the chairman and minority spokesperson of the Illinois Senate Education Committee. In addition to education initiatives, he passed a law to overhaul the DuPage Water Commission by removing the board of directors, eliminating the sales tax levy used to fund the agency and allowing more oversight by the DuPage County Board. He also passed laws to improve security at schools, protect women and children from domestic violence, strengthen teen driving laws and reduce gun violence. Chairman Cronin is a resident of Elmhurst where he lives with his wife, Juliann, and their four children. He is partner in the Oak Brook law firm of Power and Cronin. He is a graduate of Fenwick High School and earned a B.A. from Northwestern University and a J.D. from Loyola Law School.