The Gender And Partisan Rift On DuPage County Board

ELMHURST, IL — It's pretty easy to tell a Democrat from a Republican on the DuPage County Board. The seven women on the board are Democrats, and the 11 men are Republicans. It doesn't get much simpler than that.

And that dynamic may not change with the Nov. 3 election. In the six board races, all the GOP candidates are men and all but one of the Democrats are women.

As with many local government entities, both parties find common ground on issues. For instance, this summer, DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin, R-Elmhurst, chastised member Pete DiCianni, R-Elmhurst, for how he handled himself with counterprotesters during a pro-police rally. The Democrats wholeheartedly agreed.

In the 2016 presidential election, Democrat Hillary Clinton won almost 54 percent of the vote in DuPage County. And across the country, suburbs are becoming more Democratic in the era of President Donald Trump. This may be why Democratic DuPage County Board candidates are aiming for a board majority in the historically GOP county.

This week, a flare-up occurred between Cronin and member Elizabeth Chaplin, D-Downers Grove, whose district includes Elmhurst. It involved a message on Dan Cronin's political Facebook page and drew an accusation from Chaplin that Cronin was sounding more like Trump.

A few days ago, Cronin posted an item on his page in which he warned about what he perceived as shortcomings in Cook County's justice system. Then he said such issues would not happen under Republican State's Attorney Bob Berlin and encouraged the public to vote for Republican board members.

One of the commenters wrote in response, "The left loves violence and destruction of property to make people listen."

The author was Dan Cronin. But not the prominent one. It was Cronin's Facebook friend from Auburn, Mass., apparently no relation.

Patch was contacted about the message from someone who criticized Cronin, the chairman, for making such a statement.

On Monday, Chaplin posted a screenshot of the comment on her page and wrote, "DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin is sounding more like Donald Trump every day. Cronin lacks leadership skills. Instead of trying to bring people together, he is stoking fears and causing division."

That provoked a swift response from Cronin.

"Member Chaplin, please immediately cease, retract and apologize for your libelous and slanderous remarks," he wrote. "You know or should know that the 'Dan Cronin' you are targeting with your vitriol and deceit is not me and, in fact, is someone who lives in Massachusetts and has no relation to me. I expect to see your apology and retraction published shortly."

She took down the screenshot, but did not apologize, at least on her Facebook page. She told Patch she would keep up the post about the chairman sounding more like Trump because she said that was the case.

Chaplin sent a screenshot from a television commercial that included photos of her and two other board members. She said the ad called them "radical Democrats" and implied they opposed law enforcement, which she said was untrue. She and the other two Democratic members, Julie Renehan of Hinsdale and Mary Orzog of Glen Ellyn, are not up for re-election this year.

The ad was by DuPage Forward, a political action committee, she said.

In an email to Patch, Stefanie Linare Hood, DuPage Forward's chairwoman, said Chaplin had the chance to show her support for law enforcement. "Instead, she voted to take away the ability of DuPage County residents to have their voices heard about public safety," she said.

Hood was referring to the board's vote on one of the three questions the board is sending to voters in the Nov. 3 election: “Shall DuPage County continue to consider financial support of law enforcement and public safety its top budgeting priority?”

In an email Wednesday, Chaplin said the board voted against letting voters weigh in on two referendum questions about reducing the size and cost of county government. Instead, she said, Cronin substituted three questions, including asking about funding for law enforcement and support for personal protective equipment stockpiles.

"I voted NO to the three referendum questions because I felt they were poorly worded and confusing, which I stated on the board floor." she said. "The Board removed two substantive questions with three meaningless questions. DuPage County already has a PPE stockpile and public safety and health were the chairman's 2021 top budget priorities."

Earlier this year, Cronin advertised a DuPage Forward event on his political website. As for Trump, Cronin was asked in a May 2016 WGN interview about how he felt about Trump and whether the party would support him

Cronin described himself as "conflicted and troubled" about Trump. Politics was about compromise and respecting of others' viewpoints, the chairman said.

"Politics have evolved and become much more confrontational… Confrontational politics doesn't get a better product," Cronin said. "I would expect (Trump) would evolve and adjust his views on things. I would like that to happen. That remains to be seen."

Cronin did not return a message for comment.

Here are the candidates running for the DuPage County Board on Nov. 3:

DISTRICT 1

Donald Puchalski, Republican, incumbent
Zahra Suratwala, Democrat

DISTRICT 2

Sean Noonan, Republican, incumbent
Paula Deacon Garcia, Democrat

DISTRICT 3

Brian J. Krajewski, Republican, incumbent
Gail Cabala-Lowry, Democrat

DISTRICT 4

Tim Elliott, Republican, incumbent
Lynn LaPlante, Democrat

DISTRICT 5

Kevin Coyne, Republican
Amy Chavez, Democrat

DISTRICT 6

Robert "Bob" Larsen, Republican, incumbent
Greg Schwarze, Democrat