Skokie Police Chief Brian Baker announces retirement

Richard Requena, Chicago Tribune
·2 min read

Skokie Police Chief Brian Baker has announced his plans to be retire from the department. His final day on the job will be on Dec. 22, per a news release from the Village of Skokie.

Baker started his career with the department in 1994 and worked his way from patrol officer to sergeant, commander and deputy chief of police before being appointed to police chief in November 2020, according to the village.

There are a couple of reasons why leaving at the 30-year mark into a career with the police department makes sense, Baker told Pioneer Press. Thirty years is the time it takes for pension benefits to be maximized, Baker observed, adding he hopes to give others chances at leadership.

“Hopefully, it works out for those behind me to give them opportunities to move up and grow,” he said.

The police department has seen a lot of turnover in the past couple of years, Baker acknowledged, and he said it’s something that happens cyclically every 25 to 30 years. In August 2022, Robert “Bob” Libit was promoted to the position of Deputy Chief when he was 29 years into his career with the department. About 14 months later, he retired, and the department saw Denise Franklin, the department’s first Black and female officer, get promoted to the same position. When asked if the next chief will serve a longer time as chief, Baker said “I believe (that) would be the hope of the Village Manager.”

Baker said the selection of the next police chief is an internal process run by the village manager, John Lockerby. He is confident a decision on who will run the department next will be made before his last day, he said.

Lockerby said, “Chief Baker has been an outstanding leader of the Skokie Police Department, collaborating closely with members of the community and department to navigate historic challenges, build trust, and enhance public safety for all who live, work and visit here.”

Baker said he would miss the people he worked with in his department and others and the connections he has made with community organizations and residents. “I’ll miss that the most,” he said.

Plans call for him to take on a job with the Jewish United Fund as the deputy director of security, where he will still work in Skokie and surrounding areas.

Baker’s achievements in his career include, according to the village:

  • Overseeing the launch of the village’s Co-Responder Team with the Village’s Health and Human Services Department. The program paired police officers who have completed crisis intervention training with licensed social workers to respond to individuals having a crisis.

  • Reviewing the department’s Use of Force Policy with the Public Safety Commission and other community organizations.

  • Establishing tracking of bias-based incidents and hate crimes to prioritize the department and community response.

  • Developing and implementing the department’s “Be the Difference” program.