Anne Keegan

On the Street Doing Life Anne Keegan

What Readers Say: "'On the Street Doing Life,' captures the gritty reality that cops face working dope on the west side of Chicago. No cop did it better than Mike Cronin and I'm proud to say I had the opportunity to work with him." Philip Cline, Superintendent Chicago Police Department "Mike Cronin ... He got injured in Vietnam in the '60s. Came back. He couldn't get on the Police Department. He only had one leg. And my dad put him on... Was my dad right? Yeah, my dad was right. This guy is the best policeman. He was a commander. We're bringing him back as a civilian, he's so good." Richard M. Daley, Mayor City of Chicago(Quoted in Chicago Sun-Times, Feb. 19, 2007) "In 'On the Streets Doing Life,' Anne Keegan gives readers a rare and fascinating tour of how life plays out on the West Side through the eyes of Mike Cronin, a legendary Chicago cop who knows those streets better than anyone. Keegan pulls no punches, but neither did Mike Cronin." Dick Devine Cook County State's Attorney This unique and intimate account of a legendary Chicago gang crimes cop is raw, moving, funny and sad - unlike any other book you've ever read. In the honest, poetic and profane language of the street, Keegan reveals a real cop striving to walk the fine line between toughness and fairness, the ability to enforce the law without being brutal, to not take things personally and to play by the rules when the criminals don't have to, or don't want to. Mike Cronin eventually rose to head the Chicago Police Department's two most elite units - gangs and narcotics. This is the story of the humanity he brought to and found on his city's most troubled streets.