The Latest Breaking News from Robert Bakker

How Jurassic Park changed film-making and our view of dinosaurs

In June 1993, director Steven Spielberg released a film that unleashed a wave of technological change in film-making and simultaneously helped to revive popular interest in dinosaurs.

The Conversation · Jun 12, 2023

Chicago Police must get rid of officers with ties to far-right hate groups

The next mayor and his police superintendent must make it a priority to get rid of officers whose ties to far-right groups make it harder to build trust with the commu

Chicago Sun-Times · Mar 30, 2023

Extremism probes in CPD, new endorsements of mayoral candidates and more in your Chicago news roundup

Today’s update is a five-minute read that will brief you on the day’s biggest stories.

Chicago Sun-Times · Mar 7, 2023

Head of City Council’s public safety committee renews call to fire Chicago cop with ties to far-right Proud Boys

“We have fired officers in the past with less transgressions in their associations,” Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) said of an officer with ties to the group Proud Boys.

Chicago Sun-Times · Jan 10, 2023

Civil rights organization blasts Chicago mayor, top cop for not firing officer for his links to the far-right Proud Boys

“Any individual who is tasked with protecting the public cannot be trusted to do so equitably when they associate with an openly racist, bigoted, and misogynistic organization,” wrote Jeff Tischauser of the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Chicago Sun-Times · Jan 5, 2023

Ald. Sigcho-Lopez calls for hearings on CPD officer suspended over ties to the Proud Boys

The department’s handling of the probe “points out a much bigger problem about how internal affairs — and how, in general, the police department — is accountable to the public,” the alderperson said.

Chicago Sun-Times · Dec 13, 2022

Two Chicago cops face dismissal for allegedly lying about 2010 fatal shooting

Chicago Police Supt. David Brown said the officers repeatedly lied about the shooting of 25-year-old William Hope Jr., whose family was awarded $4.6 million in a lawsuit filed against the city.

Chicago Sun-Times · Nov 3, 2022

Chicago police supervisor quits amid probe into racist, incendiary social media posts

“Lt. (John ) Cannon’s posts disparage the same protected classes he took an oath to protect and serve, including Muslims, African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, the LGBTQ community, and women,” stated the Civilian Office of Police Accountability.

Chicago Sun-Times · Oct 30, 2022

It sets a bad precedent when cop with Proud Boys ties gets a pass

It’s deeply troubling that the Chicago Police Department overlooked incriminating evidence and didn’t even consider firing Bakker for making inconsistent statements to authorities about his ties to the insurrectionist group.

Chicago Sun-Times · Oct 27, 2022

Watchdog: CPD overlooked incriminating evidence while investigating cop’s ties to far right Proud Boys and should have fired him

“This case represents a determination that someone who made ‘false’ and ‘contradicting’ statements about his association with the Proud Boys should continue to wear the uniform of the Chicago Police Department,” the city’s inspector general told the Sun-Times.

Chicago Sun-Times · Oct 25, 2022