CHICAGO PSYCH
The SET UP In the month of January 2022, Chicago had 45 homicides; in 2021, 500 murders ravaged the city. Chicago was in crisis with the police department underfunded and overworked. In early 2023, Mayor Manny Diaz, in a secret back-channel mandate, regulated the entire Chicago PD Homicide Unit to weekly, psychotherapy sessions in an experimental pilot program for the department. These sessions dealt with the psychological effects of the overwhelming carnage and conditions that the homicide unit was working under. Some of the detectives went willingly; others struggled because it was a mandate, something that was forced on their psyche. Enter DR. Monica Lewis, a 41 year old, prestigious, female professor and psychiatrist from the University of Chicago, who was sworn in as a deputy law enforcement officer. She was also sworn to secrecy, and her case files were redacted. Monica was to meet one on one with all the homicide detectives in the city of Chicago. Her job was to counsel and listen to the officers about current and closed murder cases. These actions were unprecedented; however, they were warranted under the climate that Chicago faced.
The PODCAST Each week, through the therapy sessions that are conducting by DR. Monica Lewis and members of the Chicago PD Homicide Unit, murder cases will be retold, relived, and painstakingly analyzed within closeddoor sessions. These sessions will be the basis of each episodic murder case that is solved. CHICAGO PSYCH is an open- ended procedural. Each week one murder will be highlighted. Dr. Monica Lewis is no stranger to law enforcement, and in a twist of fate, she is the girlfriend of Lance O’Hare, a disgraced, drug unit detective. Lance was sent to the federal prison in Greenville, Illinois for fifteen years after a two-year, corruption investigation. Their secret relationship was hidden from both of their families, as Lance was married with two kids. Lance believes that he was set up by corrupt, homicide investigators, who were overzealous to close cases and
make their rank within the department. With the love of her life behind bars, Dr. Monica Lewis has an ulterior motive; she now has access to the detectives that possibly were responsible for his incarnation. Each week with her dual motives and the access to case files, Dr. Monica Lewis will try to uncover the players involved in the cover-up and why Lance was used as the patsy. She has to do this while juggling her duties at the police department and raising her young son from a previous marriage is examined and solved. Within these episodes, we also explore the personal lives of Dr. Monica Lewis and our main characters of the show that make up the homicide unit and the corridors of power of the city of Chicago.
DR. MONICA LEWIS-41 A graduate of Harvard and the University of Chicago graduate school, Monica was a daughter of the Southside of Chicago. Her father is Ben Lewis, who has been an alderman in the 5th district for 25 years. A man of honor, respect, and hard work, Ben was a doting father, and now, he is her trusted advisor. Monica was married to Lawrence O’Donnell, the owner, along with his father, of Falcon Dev, a commercial real estate conglomerate. Monica was unhappy, and the five-year marriage ended amicably with joint custody of their son Zach. She started her own practice a year out of grad school, catering to wealthy clients of Chicago’s Gold Coast. Monica started donating her time to Larry “Thunder” Jones, and his non-profit Gang Invaders. Larry was a gang violence interrupter, worked inside some of Chicago’s toughest war zones. Monica helped Larry counsel kids, as young as 12, out of the gang lifestyle. Through her work with Larry, she met Lance O’Hare, who at the time was working the Gang Investigation
Unit of the Chicago Police Department, or the C-Squad as they were called on the street. Monica fell in love hard; however, the only problem was that Larry was married. Her work with gangs put her in constant contact with the Chicago Police Department, and she also began advising the Dept on all things gang related. She felt comfortable around cops, and had a morbid fascination with police investigations and procedure. She also had a dark side. Chief of Police, Gerald McCarthy, approached her father first with a request. The Mayor had handed down a secret mandate, therapy for the Chicago Police Department Homicide Department members. Monica was the first choice for the job, which was a paid police position. What happened next, ripped her apart. Lance was caught up in an explosive Internal Affairs investigation and sent away for 15 years: The man she loved was gone.
PERCY MILLER-48 Chief of detectives
MIller was the Chief of Detectives and worked his way up the police ladder using any means necessary. He survived a bullet in the gut from a Gangster Disciple back in the 80s crack epidemic. Skinny, tall, and tough, Percy doesn’t take shit from anyone within the department. He has been the Chief of the Homicide Unit for five years, and 2012 was his worse year yet. The number of cases has increased, and the department’s workload has tripled, leaving Percy literally living at the office. Percy is no stranger to discrimination and racial politics, so his handling of the current
scrutiny and the rise of street gangs have him battling the press, his superiors, and the cold, hard streets of Chicago. Percy is a creature of habit. He loves Motown music and the novels of Iceberg Slim. Percy fought long and hard to not have his men scrutinized by Dr. Monica Lewis. He did everything but resign from the force, and has been a thorn in Monica’s side. It was under his watch that the Lance O’Hare investigation went down. Monica believes Percy is hiding some dark secrets, and that he would fall on his sword for his fellow homicide investigators.
AMY O’HARA-35 HOMICIDE detective
The youngest female on the homicide detail, Amy O’Hara is a pitbull in stilettos. She is the daughter of Morgan O’Hara, the former Mayor of Chicago. Amy moved to homicide after a stint as a U. S. Marshall. She is the top mind of the homicide unit, and also the one with the largest caseload with the best conviction rate. Her world was murder, and her work ethic has put her in the hospital for exhaustion. With no family to speak of and the rising
murder rate, Detective O’Hara has been put under immense pressure by the police chief to close more cases and also to be accountable for other members of the unit. O’Hara is fighting an unwinnable battle. In the small amount of time she devotes to her personal life, Amy has dated a series of miscreants and losers that at times has jeopardized her career at the department.
Jose Melendez-29 Crime scene investigator
As the only crime scene technician assigned to the homicide unit, Jose is referred to as a whack, a mole. He finds himself working three to four crime scenes a day, and his relationship with the rest of the crew is tenuous at best. Jose thinks and acts like a homicide detective, and often solves crimes before they do. This knack for stepping on toes has resulted in him being the brunt of the homicide unit’s pranks. Jose is Cuban, and his English is both comical and irreverent. His
mix of Spanglish often causes confusion and awkward humor. He is best friends with Amy O’Hara, and there is rampant speculation about his sexual orientation, which he chalks up to his flamboyant wardrobe. Jose dresses as if he is sitting in the front row at Milan Fashion Week. A loyal worker and office gossip, his sessions with Monica are the most entertaining and revealing. Which gives comic relief to their morbid encounters.
GERald mccarthy-46 Police chief
Freshly named police chief, Gerald McCarthy, has inherited a shit storm of the highest order. Chicago’s murder rate is just as bad as Afghanistan maybe worse, and the power struggle of Chicago’s street gangs has caused such wanton violence that the nation has put his department under a microscope. A disciple under William Bratton of the NYPD, McCarthy has begun to implement measures within Chicago to tide the violence. With a combative mayor, Gerald was completely against the mandate handed down. Therapy
for cops he believes is a recipe for disaster. He is even more concerned with the rumors of corruption within the gang unit, and a public control board is looking into the investigation and conviction of Lance O’Hare. McCarthy knows now under his watch, he will catch the flack for any undue attention or fuck-ups. Gerald is hard-nosed and a cops cop, who grew up on the streets of Newark, New Jersey. McCarthy knows where to bury the bodies if he has to, and his first order of business is making Dr. Monica Lewis life a living hell.
debra cole-42 HOmocide detective
Debra was Willy Perkin’s partner and the grounding influence within the relationship. Debra was the only African-American, female detective to ever work in the unit, and her ability to get snitches, informants and other street denizens to trust her was vital. She was a shark in the interrogation room, and she was easy on the eyes. Debra grew up in the same housing projects where the murders and violence were escalating, and she still counted many friends among the
residents. Debra was the closest thing Dr. Monica Lewis had as a friend on the force, and their therapy sessions often were sexually charged. Debra was bi-sexual and had a strong attraction to Dr. Lewis and other females on the force. Her expertise and where she shined was helping the Sex Crimes Unit where she spent eight years working some of the ugliest cases the Chicago Police Department has.
ben lewis-65 The oracle
A career politician and all round fixer, Ben Lewis has been involved in Chicago politics since he was twenty-one years old. He is shrewd, manipulative, and a brute force. At the age of thirty-five, he opened Lewis Associates, a high-powered, lobbying firm that navigated the waters of Chicago politics. He was nicknamed “The Oracle” because he often found himself guiding other power players in business, government, and law enforcement. He tried not to meddle in the life of his daughter, but behind the scenes, he kept a vigilant watch on her personal and
professional life. His career was winding down, and he preferred to spend most of his time at a social club on the Southside, drinking, smoking, and laying wagers on any sporting event that was on television. Ben Lewis traversed the murky waters of Chicago cronyism and colorful characters that kept one foot in the rackets and the other in the corridors of power. He spent most of his time consulting on real estate transactions that made him pretty well off. Ben chose to live modestly in the same house for thirty years.
LARRY ‘THUNDER’ JONES-48 GANG INVADERS
Larry was one of the founding members of the Gangster Disciples street gang back in 1965. He is a Black Nationalist with ties to the Black Panther party and a hustler. The Disciples started off with a political bent, and slowly turned violent and exploitive. As one of the leaders, Larry broke off and formed a sect of the Five-Percent Nation focusing on Muslim teachings and drug dealing. In the late seventies, Larry was caught selling a large quantity of cocaine and spent the next fifteen years behind bars. When he got out, the streets of Chicago had been overrun with Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, and other sects
that made the Disciples looked tame. In 1994, Larry formed Gang Invaders; the concept was simple, interrupt violence before it happened, not after. Larry’s knowledge of the streets enabled him to intervene before shootings or gang conflicts, the program was successful, and he started to work with the police dept. Larry met Dr. Lewis through her father, and Larry was like a brother to her, someone to complain to and have dinner with. They both wanted to help people in any way, and this kindred spirit brought them together.
manny diaz-45 CHICAGO MAYOR
As the first, Mexican-American mayor of Chicago, Manny beat incumbent Mayor Tom Daly by four hundred votes. There was vast speculation of voter tampering and corruption, but this was Chicago. Diaz was a reformer, a playboy, and had the youthful energy to change things. His biggest priority was to revamp the police department and to stop the rising murder rate, and gang infiltration.
Manny brought in renowned criminologist, David Kennedy, who had developed the idea of bringing a psychologist into the department. It had worked in Los Angeles, and famed criminologists loved to experiment with real subjects. The secret mandate that came out of these discussions brought Dr. Monica Lewis inside the police department.
NIKKI NICOLE-38 The best friend
Nikki Nicole worked for Goldman Sachs, and was Monica’s best friend. They grew up together and attended Chicago Prep High School. Nikki is single and prides herself on dating the most eligible bachelors according to Chicago Magazine. Monica liked to live vicariously through Nikki, and Nikki provided emotional support. Monica lived in her head,
and the new job has brought about intense nightmares and inner distraught. Nikki as of late has been dating real estate baron, David Kemp, of the Kemp dynasty, and Monica has tagged along to some high-society functions. She hasn’t been ready to move on from her illicit affair.