there is a tie, raised unrelated concerns, criticizing the no-bid contract as "open-ended" and in excess of the original budgeted amount. Nonetheless, he succeeded in removing a confidentiality provision from the contract. In April 2011, Cronin formed a committee to review the county's pension benefits and reduce potential abuse by employees and officials. By August, the board agreed to reduce time-off benefits. Amidst these reforms, over 100 county employees retired in 2011, compared to 25 the previous year. In July 2011, Cronin stepped down as chairman of the DuPage County Republican Party, citing his heavy workload as county board chairman. He was succeeded by Ramey. For the November 2012 elections, Cronin submitted an advisory referendum question to ask voters whether state law should allow a person to hold more than one elected office at the same time, amidst a controversy over whether two candidates could retain their incumbent positions as mayor and village president if they were also elected to the county board. Cronin was against allowing county officials to hold another office at the same time. According to an investigation published by the Better Government Association (BGA) in 2013, Cronin's administration signed contracts with four firms connected to state legislative leaders, including House Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton, Senate President pro tempore Don Harmon, and House Minority Leader Tom Cross. The BGA speculated that these contracts were intended to bolster a potential run for higher office in the future, along with an aggressive legislative agenda that supported Cronin's efforts to consolidate governmental agencies in DuPage. In April 2014, Cronin claimed that labor and pension costs of the CTA were a "drag" on the entire Regional Transportation Authority. He also lamented that CTA was getting a greater share of discretionary funds compared to the region's other transit agencies, including Metra, echoing concerns that he had previously raised in 2012. Government consolidation In 2011, Cronin launched efforts to consolidate units of government in DuPage. His efforts were labelled the "ACT Initiative", where "ACT" stands for "Accountability, Consolidation, Transparency". Cronin worked with State Senator Tom Cullerton and other legislators to propose bills in the General Assembly that would have granted DuPage more authority over agencies whose officers are appointed by the county board. In 2011, after Cronin faced difficulties inspecting the finances of various agencies under his purview, Cullerton sponsored a bill requiring such agencies to provide documents and certain