In October 2006, Allstate Insurance filmed a TV commercial in and around Marina City. Based on the famous car-chase scene from the 1980 action film, The Hunter, Allstate recreated the famous fall of an automobile off one of Marina City’s 18-story parking decks and into the Chicago River, below.
The Marina Towers Condominium Association signed a little-known but publicly available legal agreement in 2003 promising never to seek or support landmark status for Marina City. Who knew? (And…why?)
A quick posting for the Gary Kimmel Scandal followers among you. Chicago Magazine’s October 2006 article on Gary Kimmel, containing several quotes from Yours Truly and lots of, um, enlightening background information on the erstwhile dentist, can now be read for free, in its entirety, on the Chicago Magazine website.
Kimmelgate has officially hit the fan, and score one for the blogosphere. The October 2006 issue of Chicago Magazine, hitting newsstands now, features a lengthy, scathing profile of Marina City’s alleged ‘pimp dentist’, Gary Kimmel–with several quotes from Yours Truly.
‘Tell me the truth: should I move to Marina City?’ If there’s one question I hear more than any other, it’s that one. Over the past year, Chicago Carless has become a go-to site for information about life here at the corncobs–in all its sometimes glorious and sometimes gory details. So I’ve put together this look at the pros and cons of living here so you can decide for yourself.
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.
A surprise development in the Gary Kimmel hooker scandal, the Marina City story that just keeps on giving. 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, Spears is quoted as saying, ‘Some of my best girls were minors’–and identifying dentist Gary S. Kimmel as a ‘business partner.’
You knew it had to happen. After a year of growing discontent with the current notorious state of affairs at Marina City, late last month a group of Marina City resident-owners filed suit against the condominium association for the twin 60-story corncobs, alleging the current voting proxy system in use by the condo board effectively undermines the intent of the Illinois Condominium Property Act.
At the July 18 status hearing and notice of motion for Marina City’s most famous dentist, Gary S. Kimmel, the good doctor was granted a request to travel, but he and his attorney, Joseph Lopez, were reminded to mind the ‘restrictions.’ These were not specified, but it’s probably safe to assume that they include ‘don’t leave the country.’
Exactly when I decided to leave New York has always been one of the biggest mysteries of my life. To this day, I still can’t identify the moment when I made or was set upon by the decision to leave behind Gotham and all of its angst and adopt the relentlessly friendly American Midwest as my home. However, a recent encounter on the roofdeck at Marina City chiseled into sharp relief for me one of the biggest reasons why I did it.