The Chicago Police Department is a mythical and legendary law enforcement unit as well as a closed–door society. In
On the Job: Behind the Stars of the Chicago Police Department, Daniel P. Smith draws the curtain to reveal the officers
and their personal stories. Smith, an award–winning journalist and the product of a Chicago Police family, explores the
work/life juxtaposition of the men and women–mothers and fathers, realists and idealists, cynics and consolers–who don
the Chicago Police star.
From officers on the frontlines of a bloody battle over gangland turf to those at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, from
those who battle personal demons to those who celebrate the adrenaline of the chase, On the Job peers into a world of individuals
trying to simultaneously balance work demands with the demands of their own private lives. Far from the imaginative portrayals
sprouting from American televisions, On the Job shares the honest and sincere stories of those who carry the Chicago Police star
alongside their life's ambitions, responsibilities, and realities.