The cameras roll on Tuesday nights in downtown Chicago, but Willow Springs Police Chief Garry McCarthy isn’t there to talk about small-town crime.
Under studio lights, he sits across from some of the biggest names in American law enforcement, steering frank conversations about gangs, guns and the burden of the badge.
McCarthy, 66, a former superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, now hosts “Behind the Badge,” a weekly show produced by FOX 32 Chicago and streamed on YouTube.
Each episode features a wide-ranging discussion with a prominent police leader. The topics are heavy — police reform, gang violence, terrorism — but the tone leans personal, often reflective. And the show is entirely McCarthy’s idea to shape.
The folks at FOX 32 Chicago reached out to McCarthy with the concept for a show featuring “a couple of cops sitting around telling stories.”
“They’ve kind of left the whole thing in my hands to develop content, which is fun for me because I know a lot of people across the country,” McCarthy, 66, said in a recent interview.
“I’ve got access to folks who are kind of icons in the business,” he added.
Using those connections, he’s been able to bring in a series of law enforcement experts.
“It’s a lot of fun for me,” he said.
He’s covered a wide range of topics already with more on the way. The show is taped on Tuesday evenings at the FOX 32 studio downtown.
“The first one was with Tony Riccio of the CPD (Chicago Police Department),” said McCarthy who was Chicago Police Supt. from 2011 to 2015 before he took the Willow Springs job in 2022.
Charlie Beck, the former police chief in Los Angeles, was the second show’s guest. Beck served briefly as interim Superintendent in Chicago.
They covered so much ground, “I don’t think we even got to talk about (his time in) Chicago,” he said.
McCarthy added how Chicago’s gang strategy was borrowed from L.A. “because they have a gang issue like Chicago has, which is different than New York.
“New York is about drugs. Chicago is about generational gangs, just like it is in L.A.,” he said. “I took a lot of knowledge from Charlie Beck and brought it to Chicago.”
His very memorable third show featured Carlos Yanez, the former partner of Ella French. She was the Chicago officer killed in the line of duty in 2021.
Yanez was shot four times and lost an eye. Elizabeth French, the mother of Officer French, is also on that show.
“He said ‘I’m glad this happened to me and not the officers who responded to the scene’,” McCarthy said. “He’s one of the most impressive people I’ve ever met.”
He hopes to get Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on the show.
Willow Springs Mayor Melissa Neddermeyer said, “I’m happy for him,” when asked about the show after the latest village board meeting.
“I trust that he’s doing a great job and happy to have him representing. He has a lot of experience and knowledge,” Neddermeyer said.
One of the more gripping episodes focused on 9-11 as McCarthy recounted harrowing memories from being at Ground Zero when he was with the New York Police Department.
The show does not currently have a sponsor and could use a different title, he said.
“They came to me with the title and I gave them the content. If you want to make it Chicago, it should be (called) ‘Behind the Star’,” he said.
McCarthy said he “can’t wait” for future shows.
One features Ed Davis, the former police commissioner from Boston, “another very good friend of mine. He (worked) the bombings during the Boston Marathon.”
When he’s not at work, McCarthy – who played college baseball and football at Albany State – coaches the baseball team his 8-year-old son plays for.
“I married a much younger woman the second time around. This is what happens,” he said with a smile.
In closing about his career, McCarthy said “what we learned in New York, things we developed (to fight crime) in New York obviously worked.”
“Then I took it to Newark, we did it in Newark, then I brought it to Chicago. And it’s been successful. … We target criminals, not demographics. You’ve got to meet these things head on.”