CHICAGO CARLESS

(Photo: Heavy traffic in far west Chicagoland? Credit: UK BAE.)

Portugal’s Domingos Portela de Andrade wasn’t the only interesting person I met at last month’s German Marshall Fund reception, hosted by my pal Val’s friend, Julia. I also met Julia’s squeeze, Adam (no relation to Adam the out-of-towner). Adam lives in DeKalb, 20 miles west of the Fox River. Julia lives in Greektown, 40 miles east of the Fox. Now that’s what I call a bicoastal relationship.

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(Photo: Traditional sweet cake from the Portuguese festival of São Gonçalo. Credit: The Richards.)

Yesterday, my Mennonite colleague, the Plankmaker, told me about an old college roommate who used to rather proudly display in his dorm room daily sculptures made out of a homemade collection of multicolored construction-paper phalluses. After I recovered from the fleeting shock of learning that the roommate in question was heterosexual, I was immediately reminded of the festival of São Gonçalo.

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(Photo: The incomparable Marina City roofdeck. Credit: Looper.)

A big hello to my visitors from YoChicago! Today, the trendy local real estate blog featured Chicago Carless on the front page — in particular, my ongoing reporting on the state of affairs at Marina City and the Gary Kimmel scandal. Thanks to my readers from YoChicago, and thanks to the editors at Yo for reading my blog.

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Well, the Chicago city council exercised its will yesterday, passing the controversial big-box $10 wage bill by a veto-proof 35 to 14 margin. Previous discussion here on Chicago Carless examined both sides of the issue. Now, as the dust settles and the city holds its collective breath and waits to see whether and when Walmart or Target flee the city for more profitable, suburban pastures, I can’t help but feel an entire side of the debate was, simply, missing.

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(Credit: Carol E. Sandgren.)

A surprise development in the Gary Kimmel hooker scandal, the Marina City story that just keeps on giving. As reported in the Chicago Tribune (here and here), on Tuesday one 35-year-old Jody Spears was indicted in federal court on charges of sex trafficking involving minors as young as 14 years old. According to an FBI affidavit revealed in U.S. District Court, Spears is quoted as saying, “Some of my best girls were minors.” Spears is also identified as a “business partner” with none other than indicted Marina City dentist Gary S. Kimmel. Figure that, huh?

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