Dan Cronin, a Republican who has led the DuPage County Board for more than a decade even as Democrats made dramatic gains in the longtime GOP stronghold, says he will not seek reelection when his third term ends next year.

       Cronin, 61, an attorney from Elmhurst who was first elected to the board in 2010 after two decades in the state legislature, said Wednesday that while he has no plans to run for Illinois governor or any other office, he will remain active in politics, backing candidates who share what he called a vision of collaborative governance.

       Dan Cronin, chairman of the DuPage County Board and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle at the launch of Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning in 2018. (Jose M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)

       “Part of my duty and responsibility is to recruit the next generation and support virtuous, talented people, right-thinking people who in my estimation will work with all sides and find common ground,” he said.

       All 18 county board seats plus the chairmanship will be up for grabs next year. Cronin, whose campaign war chest still holds more than $400,000, declined to endorse a successor for his seat but said “it’s probably no secret that I’m very, very high on a young man named Greg Hart,” a first-term board member from Hinsdale.

       Just a few years ago a Republican handoff would have been taken for granted in DuPage, but Democrats have recently turned the tables and now hold a majority on the board for the first time since the 1930s.

       Cronin said while he doesn’t think the county has turned blue for good, Republicans must respond to the challenge by getting younger and more diverse.

       “It’s certainly not a red county anymore, but I think good candidates — smart, capable, honest, hardworking people from both sides of the aisle — get elected if they project themselves the right way,” he said.

       But Democrat Liz Chaplin, who was first elected in 2012 and has announced plans to run for the chairmanship, said Cronin’s claims of being a compromise seeker ring hollow.

       She and fellow Democrats have scrapped with him over committee assignments and other matters, and she said he has directed “snide comments and condescending remarks” toward her during meetings.

       “If that’s his idea of good bipartisan leadership and what a great job he’s done, not so much,” she said. “I think he’s presented a false narrative.”

       Cronin counted among his accomplishments streamlining local government, tackling the opioid epidemic and guiding the country through the pandemic (DuPage has the highest vaccination rate in the state, with 76% of adults 18 to 64 getting the shot).

       In his final 15 months, he said, he wants to focus on the long-sought western access to O’Hare International Airport. He said he has been speaking with Chicago officials and hopes to “put us on the path to that ultimate goal.”

       Outside of politics, Cronin said he will work with the 100 Club of Illinois, which aids the families of first responders, and might seek to join the board of another nonprofit organization. He also wants to travel, watch his son play football games at Dartmouth College and do some mountain climbing, he said.

       “I’m looking forward to the next chapter,” he said. “It’s going to be fun.”

       jkeilman@chicagotribune.com

       Twitter @JohnKeilman

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