Daniel J. Cronin: Candidate profile
Bio
Name: Daniel J. Cronin
City: Elmhurst
Website: www.dupagechairman.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChairmanCronin
Party: Republican
Office sought: Chairman of the DuPage County Board
Age: 58
Family: Married with four children
Occupation: Full time county board chairman and part-time lawyer at the law firm of Power & Cronin, LTD, where I am a partner.
Education: B.A. in Economics, dean's list, Northwestern University; J.D., Loyola University School of Law
Civic involvement: In 2014, I helped co-found Transform Illinois, a collaborative of local elected officials, civic organizations and research institutions dedicated to promoting and supporting local government efficiency efforts in Illinois. I have had the fortune of serving on several local civic boards over the years. My wife and I remain involved in our local church, Immaculate Conception Parish.
Elected offices held: DuPage County Board Chairman, 2010 - Current; Illinois State Senate, 1994 - 2010; Illinois State Representative, 1991 - 1993
Questions & Answers
Q. Why are you running for this office? Is there a particular issue that motivates you?
A. I am running for chairman of the DuPage County Board because I believe that results matter and that the current political system isn't working for anyone. We are living through a period of immense political division that is fostering gridlock and dysfunction in government. But I believe elected leaders must find the political will and personal courage to find agreement on difficult issues.
We have delivered on our promises and reformed county government during my administration. We've worked across the aisle to reach bipartisan agreement at the local, regional and state level.
I am asking the voters of DuPage to allow me to serve another term so that we can continue to reduce the size, scope and cost of local government. DuPage County is a beacon of prosperity and opportunity in Illinois. But, we cannot give in or give up. We must continue to show the state how responsible reform can be achieved.
Q. If you are an incumbent, describe two important initiatives you've led. If you're not an incumbent, describe two ways you would contribute to the running of county government.
A. Anyone who follows the County knows that we have been undertaking an ambitious effort to reduce the size scope and cost of local government through our Accountability, Consolidation and Transparency (ACT) Initiative. Here are a few highlights of how we've transformed county government to better serve taxpayers:
• Instituted reforms that will deliver at least $120 million in taxpayer savings in the years ahead;
• Responsibly cut $38 million from the county's budget since I first took office;
• Never increased the county's share of your property taxes;
• Abolished the DuPage Water Commission's sales tax - saving consumers $36 million annually;
• Taken action to eliminate seven units of local government by 2019; and
• Modernized and cut the county's legacy benefit and pension programs.
As important as it has been to maintain fiscal discipline, we have not cut the high-quality services that DuPage County residents expect. To maintain and promote a high quality of life for DuPage County families we have:
• Reformed the county's criminal justice system to better serve at-risk youth;
• Provided enhanced mental health treatment and counseling for those in need;
• Invested millions in social safety net programs administered by area nonprofits;
• Tackled the opioid and prescription drug crisis head-on by equipping first-responders with training and tools that have saved over 500 lives;
• Worked with business leaders at Choose DuPage to recruit, retain and grow jobs across the county; and
• Made annual investments in projects that reduce traffic congestion and chronic flooding.
I believe we must continue to responsibly manage DuPage County's finances, while meeting our mission and offering a social safety net to the neediest among us.
Q. Is there a specific service or amenity that is lacking in the county? If so, how do you propose to provide and fund it?
A. Gangs, guns and drugs are an ever-present threat and we cannot avoid these issues or pretend these dangers don't exist. I'm looking forward to working with a new DuPage County Sheriff. This presents an opportunity for enhanced cooperation and coordination between the county and law enforcement. We are fully committed to working together to keep families safe by instituting common sense reforms and collaborating with our partners in law enforcement, education and with leaders throughout the region.
The drug and opioid crisis is one of the most challenging issues facing government leaders. We've tackled the opioid and prescription drug crisis head-on by reforming our judicial process to emphasize pathways for treatment, established a task force, brought issue and public safety experts together, equipped first responders with lifesaving medical treatments and added funding to increase resources for those families in need.
We're on the front-lines and I wish we could being doing more today. In the years ahead, combating this public health crisis will require increased resources from the federal and state governments, and we must hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for their role in creating this public health crisis.
Q. With DuPage County's budget being squeezed by state funding cuts and other factors, what initiatives would you support to increase revenue and/or save money?
A. The most important message we have is that the state needs to stop balancing its budget on the backs of local government. Springfield's budget gimmicks have literally cost DuPage County millions of dollars we were counting on and the county cannot afford any more cutbacks.
The county must maintain its fiscal discipline because DuPage families and job-creators are overtaxed and overburdened as it is. The wrong path is to join the chorus that says just increase taxes a little bit here and there. No government can tax its way to prosperity.
Instead, we must encourage economic growth and investment through reasonable and responsible regulation. Every year I have been chairman we have reduced the budget, cut the county's head count and maintained our self-imposed property tax freeze.
I will never stop looking for efficiencies or a better way to achieve results for taxpayers.
Q. The county has been focused on consolidation of services and government agencies. How effective has that effort been and how could it be improved?
A. Our record of reform speaks for itself. By 2019, seven units of local government will have been consolidated. We've instituted sweeping ethics and transparency reforms at every agency and department affiliated with the county.
It hasn't been easy or quick, but our persistence has paid off. We've been able to take substantial future costs out of the system. We abolished the DuPage Water Commission's sales tax saving consumers $36 million annually.
While I am proud of DuPage's record, I am equally pleased that we have shown that reform and consolidation can be achieved without reducing services. DuPage County has led the way and shown other leaders across the state how they can implement similar reforms.
Our painstaking experiences consolidating government actually encouraged the General Assembly to change state laws to make it easier to reform local government. That may be the most important outcome of our reform agenda, because Illinois' true economic potential is being strangled by the labyrinth of 7,000 units of local government across the state. I hope local government reform lifts the tides of every community and region of the state.
Q. Please name one current leader who most inspires you.
A. It may be a cliché to use a sports reference, but I think Tom Ricketts and what the entire Cubs organization has been able to accomplish should inspire all of us in Illinois, because we all remember what it was like before they took over with their turnaround plan.
It took vision, ambition, perseverance and a whole lot of hard work to go from one of the worst teams in all of baseball to one of the best performing. But, it also took risk and courage by the Ricketts family. There are differences between sports and public policy, but the Cubs changed their course and changed the outcome in a historic way.
To accomplish this, each team member had to do their part every day and contribute to the success of the organization. In DuPage County, our ACT Initiative has saved well over $100 million. This great achievement was built on small wins here and there. Efficiencies, savings, collaborations, in areas that aren't glamorous, but are very important. Over time, hundreds added up to thousands and then millions. It required intentionality, diligence and creativity; and it certainly didn't happen overnight. I wonder what would happen if each county, city or town's leaders tried do something similar.
Illinois faces great challenges on a variety of fronts, but we can't give up or stop trying simply because the task ahead of us is enormous. Every little bit actually does add up over time. And, as the Cubs learned, that effort changes the team culture, making "winning" easier and our collective effort much stronger.
Q. What is the biggest lesson you learned at home growing up?
A. You learn a lot of life lessons when you grow up in a house with nine children! I still am not sure how my parents managed it all, but more than anything, I learned the value of being responsible with your money and stretching every dollar.
That experience has stuck with me my entire life in public service, because I think of all the families that are managing on a tight budget. In government, too often, officials forget that every dollar comes from a parent, a son or daughter. It's more than just a few dollars here or a little increase over there.
Whether it is $10 or $500 that we can save, that is money parents can put toward their families. I believe it's essential to find efficiencies and stretch every dollar.
Q. If life gave you one do-over, what would you spend it on?
A. My family has been a bedrock of support over the years and I could not have been as involved in public service without their love and assistance. However, if I could have one do-over I would probably treat my wife to a proper honeymoon, because we actually spent our first few days as a married couple in Springfield. I can't remember what important issues of the day we were dealing with, but Juli was a great sport about it all.
You cannot be successful in public life without the support of your family. Looking back on it, in many ways public service has made our family life richer. The ability to serve and help people is a tremendous privilege, and we have been able to pass along that sense of service to our four children.
Q. What was your favorite subject in school and how did it help you in later life?
A. Some of the greatest personal lessons I learned in school actually came from being involved in Fenwick's swim team. This experience taught me discipline, time management and the importance of pushing yourself every day to do better than the day before. Equally important, swimming taught me what it meant to be accountable to others, because if you tried to skip out on practice or overslept, you weren't just letting yourself down, you were letting your teammates down.
I was fortunate enough to be on a relay team that won a state championship. That achievement required each of us to do our best day in and day out, while balancing our academic and personal lives.
In many ways, that's the same way the county board has been able to deliver reform, cut the budget and improve service levels for residents and businesses. We are a team that is committed to providing safe streets, quality schools, a growing economy and responsible government so that DuPage remains a place where opportunity grows for all.
Q. If you could give your children only one piece of advice, what would it be?
A. Earlier this year I had the chance to speak to the City Club of Chicago and I was joined by my wife and two of my daughters that day. A majority of my speech was dedicated to the subject of compromise and consensus, two topics that are frequently discussed in our house.
It is clear our society would be stronger if there was a little more compromise, compassion and consensus building. Unfortunately, we are living through a time of immense political division where the clash and conflict of opposing views are glorified and relished. This division is bleeding into almost every facet of life and I worry about what type of environment we've provided for our children and grandchildren.
We encourage our children to challenge themselves by traveling the world and spending time with others that have opposing views. Life is enriched when you push yourself out of your comfort zone.