DuPage. Tom then worked as an attorney at Winston & Strawn starting in the fall of 1992. He took a leave of absence to work on campaigning during the 1994 elections, managing Ryan's successful campaign for attorney general and Gayle Franzen's campaign for DuPage County board chairman. He earned $3,400 per month while serving as campaign manager for Franzen, who had turned to Tom and Dan for help in asserting Franzen's independence from party leadership. Tom's and Dan's mother, Claire Cronin, and two sisters also volunteered for Franzen's campaign. Tom had political ambitions of his own. In 1994, he expressed interest in running for the US Congress if Representative Henry Hyde, whose district included northeastern DuPage, were to retire. (Hyde did not retire until 2007, and Tom did not run to replace him.) Tom ran for DuPage state's attorney in 1996 against Birkett, who by then had worked in the state's attorney's office for 14 years and was endorsed by DuPage Republican leaders. Tom positioned himself as the outsider candidate, despite having managed the campaigns of Ryan and Franzen. At a forum between the two candidates, Dan asked a question attacking Birkett for accepting campaign contributions from criminal defense attorneys. During the campaign, Dan also protested language in sample letters circulated among Republican precinct workers that endorsed Birkett and criticized Tom. Additionally, Tom faced criticisms for receiving traffic tickets and failing to appear in court to answer them, causing Tom's drivers license to be suspended. Tom lost to Birkett. Dan's and Tom's sister, Cindy Cronin Cahill, was the first in the family to enter politics. A part-time accountant with her own company, Cahill ran for city treasurer of Elmhurst in 1989. The Cronin family helped with canvassing, including Juliann, who had not yet married Dan. Cahill was the youngest candidate in the race, and defeated her two male opponents by a wide margin. After four years, she stepped down as treasurer in 1993 to care for her children. Cahill later served as a member of the Illinois Liquor Control Commission from 2012 through 2019. She was elected to the county board during the 2022 elections. Illinois House of Representatives Cronin considered running for the General Assembly in 1986 and 1988. Daniels, by then the House minority leader, advised him to wait both times. Cronin declined to wait at the 1990 elections, when he ran for the 40th district of the