Marina Squerciati Has Figured Out Her 'Co-Workers' Are Funneling Money On Chicago P.D.
Playing Intel Unit Officer Kim Burgess on NBC's hit police procedural "Chicago P.D.," Marina Squerciati portrays a hard-working beat cop with a determined, can-do nature. Joining the show in its very first episode in 2014, she's been busting crooks alongside I.U. boss Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) and the rest of the 21st District team ever since, appearing in some 200 episodesand showing no sign of slowing down any time soon.
As any Chi-Hard fan can tell you, Squerciati's Officer Burgess has seen more than her share of challenges, rough treatment, and downright abuse during her 10 seasons on the series. From being abducted to suffering violent beatings, then having a miscarriage during yet another assault, plus any number of less life-threatening on-the-job injuries, the character has truly been run through the law enforcement meat grinder. Layered on top of that is the PTSD resulting from everything she's gone through during her time bringing all manner of unsavory offenders to justice. So it's entirely understandable that when the actor noticed the apparent luxury her fellow "Chicago P.D." pals were enjoying on the show, she felt obligated to speak up — if only in jest.
Squerciati joked that some of her colleagues are living beyond the salary of most cops
As seen in this YouTube clip from a 2022 One Chicago Day event featuring Marina Squerciati and fellow "Chicago P.D." regulars Amy Morton and Tracy Spiridakos, Marina has definite suspicions about how some of her fellow cops can afford to live as they do. The moment arises when the three of them are asked about their favorite scenes to watch in the series.
Squerciati singles out the time Spiridakos' Detective Hailey Upton and former Detective Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) are sharing a quiet moment together at their apartment. "Oh!" Squerciati says, as if suddenly recalling the scene. "When you guys were like eating Chinese on the steps of your million-dollar apartment?" The clip then shows Upton and Halstead in a shot of the distinctly upscale digs, with a spectacular view of nighttime Chicago's lights visible through the glass doors and windows behind them. "By the way, Kim Burgess lives in a hovel," Squerciati notes, before adding her tongue-in-cheek accusation that her co-workers are skimming illicit cash from somewhere, saying: "And you guys are like, you're clearly funneling money."
The truth is, even fans noticed the issue, with one Redditor u/IndividualSchedule complaining, "The apartment that Kim has is probably the most realistic...but no way Upton and Jay could afford theirs, not even from [a detective's] salary."