What helped Dan and Juli Cronin realize it was love?

Juli Cronin: I knew of Dan and the Cronin family because I was a swimmer in high school and I used to swim against his sisters. Our good friends were dating after college and we met one day at Oak Brook Bath and Tennis Club.

He asked me out a few times, but I was never free. He was persistent, and I surprised him when he asked me to go to a wedding with him and I finally said, “yes.”

We had a great time and started to date. He was working for Jim Ryan as an assistant state's attorney at the time, so I'd come out and watch him prosecute, and then we'd go to lunch.

When you ask how I knew he was The One, I am laughing because I'm reminded of one date in particular. We were driving home from the symphony in Chicago. We were in Dan's old car with a transistor radio strapped to the dashboard because his radio was broken, and he was wearing a khaki trench coat and looked like Columbo. I said to myself, “What am I doing? Why do I like this guy so much?”

Dan Cronin: The deal was sealed during a summer trip with my family out to Colorado. We went for a walk up to Pikes Peak and I was heading in the direction of marriage. I told Juli she should put her condo up for sale. Of course, I didn't answer when she asked where she should live, exactly.

Later that same day, we arrived home to find a note on the door saying my sister had a medical emergency and was rushed to the hospital. Juli just dived right in and helped out, watching my sister's three kids while Cathy was in the hospital.

I guess you could say on that trip, I knew she was The One. I proposed to her in a romantic dinner over Columbus Day weekend.

• Dan Cronin is chairman of the DuPage County Board.