Or, rather, as it’s now named, Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois State Beach State Park Cullerton Complex.
That’s a mouthful.
The label “Cullerton Complex” refers to the fact that adjacent to this State Park, at the far northern end of Illinois along Lake Michigan, is North Point Marina, also owned and managed by the DNR, and “complex” is meant to refer to both these entities together, although, so far as I can tell, there is nothing connecting them but this shared name. The name was given in 2000, according to this Tribune article, and honors Bill Cullerton, who is described, on the state park brochure my husband picked up on the weekend scout outing, as follows:
Cullerton, best known by the general public for his “Great Outdoors” show, which aired for many years on WGN-AM Radio, has spent nearly 50 years promoting fishing in the Midwest and supporting a multitude of outdoor-related organizations and events.
But if that name sounds familiar, why, yes, he is the cousin of John Cullerton, President of the Illinois Senate. True, he wasn’t senate president in 2000, just a high-ranking State Senator, but it’s unlikely that his cousin’s naming honor has no connection to his political position.
And Adeline Jay Geo-Karis? According to Wikipedia, she was a longtime legislator in the Illinois House and Senate, and a onetime major of Zion, adjacent to the state park. Was she anything other than just another Illinois lifetime politician (because getting elected repeatedly in Illinois doesn’t signify that you have done great things for your community)? Here’s what’s notable about her, according to Wikipedia:
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 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.
So now we name our state parks after, not local heroes, but politicians who helped the party in power, take power.
Oh, and, by the way, the state shutdown that causes lottery ticket winners and social service providers to go unpaid? From all reports, the park and campgrounds were well-maintained — because in Illinois, we do our shutdowns differently, keeping the paychecks coming to state employers, just not creditors. But that’s a blog post for another day.
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