George J Cotsirilos

1920 - 2011

George J. Cotsirilos, a legendary Chicago criminal defense trial lawyer, mentor, leading
figure in law and ethics, and recipient of the Justice John Paul Stevens Award for
integrity and public service in the practice of law, died on March 27, 2011 following a
stroke. He was 90. Presumed Innocent author Scott Turow said of Mr. Cotsirilos that in
a world where decency is routinely under assault, "he's like an eagle flying free."
The son of Greek immigrants, Mr. Cotsirilos grew up on Chicago's west side, graduated
from Marshall High School at 16, from University of Chicago Law School at 21, and
served in five invasions as a U.S. Navy ensign during World War II. He began handling
high-profile cases early in a long and distinguished legal career.


Over more than half a century, Mr. Cotsirilos committed himself to clients from
throughout the fabric of society. He achieved outstanding outcomes in state and federal
courts, trial and appellate. As one of a select group of Assistant State's Attorneys
prosecuting felonies, in 1949 Mr. Cotsirilos interviewed Ruth Ann Steinhagen, whose
story of shooting Phillies first baseman Eddie Waitkus at her room at the Edgewater
Beach Hotel became the basis for the 1984 Robert Redford film, The Natural. In the
1961 Summerdale scandal that rocked the Chicago Police Department and triggered the
Police Commissioner's resignation, Mr. Cotsirilos successfully defended officers accused
ofplacing orders for stolen goods in a crime ring headed by Richard Morrison, known as
the "Babbling Burglar" for providing evidence in exchange for leniency. Mr. Cotsirilos
also served as defense counsel in the 1969 Black Panther case involving an infamous
dawn raid. His work in the 70's and 80's included the Captain Clarence Braasch
extortion case and a teamsters pension fund case.


In one of his most stunning successes, Mr. Cotsirilos defended Nick Castanes, a Greek
immigrant and diner operator who stood accused of murdering three men during a
confrontation. Mr. Cotsirilos put his client on the stand and, hearing ofthe defendant's
fear and the cooking grease rendering his pistol unmanageable, the jury acquitted on all
charges. The prosecutor in the case stated, "Impossible you may think - I agree - except
for the fact that George Cotsirilos was his lawyer."


Mr. Cotsirilos was widely acknowledged as a role model, not only with respect to the
breadth and strength of his legal abilities, but also with regard to his ethics. He founded
two law firms, Cogan and Cotsirilos in 1953, and the current Cotsirilos, Tighe &
Streicker, L.L.P. Throughout, Mr. Cotsirilos provided generous guidance to generations
of lawyers on how to run a law firm successfully while maintaining the highest ethical
standards and a spirit of generosity toward colleagues and clients. He mentored young
lawyers both in the workplace and through his teaching at John Marshall Law School.
His extensive civic engagement included eleven years as one of the original members of
the Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Illinois Supreme Court. He chaired
the Illinois Bar Association Section on Criminal Law and the American Bar Association
Section of Litigation, Complex Crimes Committee. In addition to his 2002 receipt of the
Justice John Paul Stevens Award,
Mr. Cotsirilos was elected to the American College of
Trial lawyers, the pre-eminent association of its kind in the United States, and served as a
Regent from 1988 to 1994.


George is a
beloved husband of Joan M. Hall and the late Theresa L. Cotsirilos; loving father of Stephanie , John(Susan) and George J. Jr. (Maria Baird) Cotsirilos; step father of Colin, Christina (Peter Wald) , Lynn, and Justin Hall; proud grandfather of Teresa, Joseph, Gabriel, Lula, Zeke, Gideon, Elias and Cassidy; dear brother of Betty Angelos;

Visitation Wednesday March 30, 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Donnellan Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Blvd. at Old Orchard Road, Skokie, 60077. Funeral Service Thursday 11:00 a.m. at SS. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church, 1401 Wagner Rd., Glenview, 60025.

Interment Memorial Park Cemetery, 9900 Gross Point Road
Skokie, IL 60076

In lieu of flowers, memorials to The Young Women's Leadership Charter School, 2641 South Calumet, Chicago, 60616 www.ywlcs.org, (312) 949-9400




George Cotsirilos, 1920-2011
Defense attorney for high-profile cases



By Hailey Branson-Potts, Tribune Reporter


6:40 PM CDT, March 29, 2011


George Cotsirilos, a defense lawyer who handled a number of high-profile cases during a career that spanned more than 50 years, died Sunday, March 27, at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.


Mr. Cotsirilos, 90, died of complications from a stroke he suffered the previous week, said his wife, Joan Hall.
Mr. Cotsirilos, the son of Greek immigrants, grew up on the city's West Side, graduating from Marshall High School at 16 and the University of Chicago Law School at 21.


During World War II, he served as an ensign with the Navy and saw action in both Europe and the Pacific, Hall said.
From the beginning of his legal career, Mr. Cotsirilos seemed to be involved in big cases, said Judge William Bauer of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, a friend of 58 years.
"He was as fearless a man as I ever met," Bauer said. "He knew the law, and he liked people, and it showed. People liked him almost instinctively."
As an assistant with the Cook County state's attorney's office in 1949, Mr. Cotsirilos helped question Ruth Ann Steinhagen after she was accused of shooting Philadelphia Phillies baseball player Eddie Waitkus, who was formerly with the Cubs. The blockbuster story was the basis for Bernard Malamud's novel "The Natural," which became a 1984 Robert Redford film.


In the early 1960s, he defended several police officers from the North Side Summerdale District who were accused of being part of a burglary ring led by Richard Morrison, dubbed the "Babbling Burglar." Mr. Cotsirilos was able to keep his clients' punishment limited to fines instead of jail time, Bauer said.
"He believed firmly in every defendant's right to counsel," Hall said.


Thomas Tulley prosecuted a case in which Mr. Cotsirilos defended a restaurant owner accused of shooting three men to death in his Northwest Side eatery. Although there were several witnesses to the shooting, Mr. Cotsirilos argued that his client acted in self-defense and won an acquittal.


"George was a brilliant orator," Tulley said. "He was articulate, prepared, and the jury loved him."
Mr. Cotsirilos founded two law firms, Cogan and Cotsirilos and Cotsirilos, Tighe & Streicker. Though he was no longer trying cases, Mr. Cotsirilos went into his office every day until just before his death to consult with his partners, Hall said.
Mr. Cotsirilos taught at the John Marshall Law School and was an original member of the Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Illinois Supreme Court.


Mr. Cotsirilos had three children with his first wife, Theresa, all of whom became lawyers. She died in 1977.


He was a regent with the American College of Trial Lawyers and, in 1988, asked Hall, one of the first women to be elected as a member, to lunch to discuss getting more women involved in the organization.
The couple's first date was in August, and they were married by December, she said.
"He got up every morning with a smile on his face," Hall said.
Bernie Sahlins, co-founder of The Second City, was a friend of Mr. Cotsirilos' for 70 years. They met while catching a ride with another student to the University of Chicago from the West Side, Sahlins said.


"My metaphor for him was that he was a lion in the courtroom and a lamb at home," Sahlins said. "With his kids, with anybody's kids, he was gentle and loving, and in the courtroom, he was a warrior."
Mr. Cotsirilos also is survived by his children, Stephanie, John and George Jr.; four stepchildren, Colin Hall, Christina Hall, Lynn Hall and Justin Hall; a sister, Betty Angelos; and eight grandchildren.


A wake for Mr. Cotsirilos will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Donnellan Funeral Home, 10045 Skokie Blvd., Skokie. A funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Sts. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church,1401 Wagner Road, Glenview.

hbranson@tribune.com