This week on Hibernian Radio, Paddy Houlihan slides into the host’s chair and serves up an absolute belter with retired CPD officer Pete Kelly. From growing up on Chicago’s wild East Side and making his way to Mount Carmel High School, to running and gunning in the 4th District, surviving shootings, and earning the Valor, Blue Star, and Life Saving Awards, Pete’s story is pure Chicago. He walks us through the madness of Cabrini Green, having a gangland hit put out on him, morphing into a burglary hunter in Lincoln Park, and eventually landing the dream gig: midnight foot patrol on Rush Street, where the drunks, the tough guys, and the maniacs all learned to “take the fountain lap or go to jail.” From there, Paddy digs into Pete’s second (and third) lives as a celebrity security man and character actor — guarding Jerry Springer, backing up Steve Wilkos, working on Transformers, trading stare downs with Shia LaBeouf, getting buried alive with snakes on Fear Factor with Joe Rogan, and bouncing around New York and Chicago on a 90-hour work week. Pete also talks about his roots in boxing, his Super Cop titles, and his current work with Gregory Boxing and the 9/11 anniversary charity first responder fights at Joe’s in Rosemont, plus his support for the Special Operations Care Fund (SOC-F) and the Chicago Charity Clays event that brings in Green Berets, SEALs, and real-life American heroes. We close with plugs for his wildly entertaining Substack (PeteKelly82), Hibernian Media’s upcoming Ireland trip, and the Irish American Movie Hooley film festival. This one’s packed with cops, characters, celebrities, and a silverback gorilla with bad intentions.
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