Cindy Cronin Cahill: 2022 candidate for DuPage County Board District 1

Bio

Party: Republican

Office sought: DuPage County Board District 1

City: Elmhurst

Age: 64

Occupation: Certified Public Accountant, Licensed Illinois

Previous offices held: Elected Elmhurst City Treasurer, Appointed to Illinois Liquor Control Commission

Q&A

Why are you running for this office, whether for re-election or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you?

I am running for DuPage County Board because I want to give back to my community. I grew up in DuPage County and come from a large Irish Catholic family where my father, a Doctor, and my mother instilled in me the values of faith, family and service to one's community. My husband and I raised our 5 children here. I am a Certified Public Accountant and small business owner in DuPage County for 30 years. I started my career at Ernst and Young in Chicago and rose to manager in the governmental audit group. I was elected Elmhurst City Treasurer. I have the financial expertise, experience and determination to be a new voice and to contribute to the County Board. As an accountant, I can see first hand how inflation, rising gas prices and crippling taxes are hurting DuPage families. I want to be a strong voice for fiscal responsibility and conservative spending to help young families, seniors and businesses stay and thrive in our county.

If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you've led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?

I bring to the board my financial expertise as a CPA, business owner, and a new outside perspective. My priorities are: Public safety-I will fully fund the State's Attorney's and Sheriff's Offices to fight crime and remain the County that is toughest on crime. I was the victim of a residential home invasion which impacted my entire family. As a victim of crime, nothing is more important to me than protecting our children and families, neighborhoods and businesses with strong law enforcement. Fiscal Responsibility-I will be a good steward of hard-earned taxpayer dollars. I will scrutinize the budget and ensure every dollar is spent efficiently. I will identify creative solutions to provide services and not raise taxes. Pro-Business-I will work with businesses to ensure a vibrant and strong economy and to increase job growth. A strong business economy, along with safe neighborhoods, excellent schools and a reasonable tax base is what make DuPage County the premier county in the state.

Describe your position regarding the balance between county spending and revenues as it exists today, then describe the chief threats you see looming and how the county should deal with them.

The County budget is the roadmap for spending and revenues. The County Board deals with traffic issues, flooding, and provides the funding for the State's Attorney and the Sheriff - two critical offices in the ongoing fight against crime. The County Board sets the agenda for what we in DuPage find important - like public safety, preserving open spaces, transportation, health services. We need to pursue these wonderful goals efficiently, that is, make sure that our taxes are reasonable and fair and do not prevent young families from buying homes and senior citizens from living right here in our community.

How do you rate the county government on transparency and the public's access to records? If it's adequate, explain why. If you think improvements are needed, delineate them.

The ACT (Accountability/Consolidation/ Transparency) Initiative has made significant progress in improving transparency across County departments. We need to educate the taxpayers and users as to what information and reports are available and how to access them. Governmental entities must conduct business in a transparent manner as it is our duty and obligation to the citizens that we represent.

What, if anything, should be done to improve automation and customer service in county offices? What steps should be taken to make that happen?

We need to review processes that are manually recorded or approved to determine if they can appropriately be automated in a cost efficient way. We should eliminate those paper form processes that cause delays and duplication. It is important, however, in this review that we keep focus on insuring that customer service interactions are maintained for those taxpayers that choose not to use automated methods. In addition, personal communication in certain departments is critical to provide excellent services at the county.