Adeline Jay Geo-Karis (March 29, 1918 – February 10, 2008) was an American politician and naval officer who was a member of the

Illinois Senate The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the ...

for the 31st District from 1979 to 2007. A member of the Republican Party, she was a member of the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representativ ...

from 1973 to 1979.Senator Adeline Jay Geo-Karis
Known simply as "Geo" to her constituents, she was a popular politician in Lake County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

for many years. Known for her no-nonsense attitude and her ability to work across party lines, she also served for a time as Mayor of

Zion Zion (; ) is a placename in the Tanakh, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole. The name is found in 2 Samuel (), one of the books of the Tanakh dated to approximately the mid-6th century BCE. It o ...

Life

Born in

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, Geo-Karis came to America at the age of four with her parents. She attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

and the

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from ...

College of Law. She rose to the rank Lt. Commander in the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

s before retiring with a top secret

security clearance A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information (state or organizational secrets) or to restricted areas, after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is ...

. She also served as a Justice of the Peace and later as an assistant

state's attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

in Lake County. Due to an inter-party feud which included Republican Susan Simpson challenging Geo-Karis after she had told her she wanted to stay on for one more term, Geo-Karis endorsed Democrat

Michael Bond Thomas Michael Bond (13 January 1926 – 27 June 2017) was an English author. He is best known for a series of children's books featuring the character of Paddington Bear. More than 35 million books in the series have been sold worldwide, ...

to replace her. Bond's election, in a historically Republican district, was one of the many Democratic victories in 2006 that gave the Democratic Party a super-majority in the State Senate. Geo-Karis finished her final term in the 94th General Assembly where she served as the Executive Appointments Co-Chairperson. She also served on the Senate Committee of the Whole and the Pensions & Investments committees. Geo-Karis was also an avid supporter of Saint Demitrios Greek Orthodox Church, and was a member there for over fifty years.

Death and legacy

She died on February 10, 2008, aged 89, of natural causes, at Glenbrook Hospital in

Glenview, Illinois Glenview is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, approximately northwest of the Chicago Loop. Per the 2020 census, the population was 48,705. The Village of Glenview is governed by New Trier and Northfield townships. According ...

. The Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park in Zion is named for her.Adeline Jay Geo-Karis State Park

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Geokaris, Adeline Jay 1918 births 2008 deaths Women mayors of places in Illinois Greek emigrants to the United States Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Republican Party Illinois state senators Mayors of places in Illinois DePaul University College of Law alumni Northwestern University alumni Illinois lawyers Female United States Navy officers Military personnel from Illinois Women state legislators in Illinois People from Glenview, Illinois People from Zion, Illinois 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American lawyers United States Navy reservists 21st-century American women 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly