Columns

This image from CCTV video released by Saudi Arabia's Media Ministry shows passengers taking cover as flames and smoke fill part of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, during what authorities described as a strike at the airport on Oct. 10, 2026. (Saudi Media Ministry via AP)

Daniel DePetris: Resumption of war between Houthis and Saudis is bad timing for Donald Trump

By Daniel DePetris

October 12, 2026 at 1:27 p.m.

The attacks in Saudi Arabia come when Donald Trump is in a standoff over the...

Attorneys for Christa Pike hold a news conference after a judge ruled the Tennessee Department of Corrections must preserve all evidence related to the failed execution of Pike, on Oct. 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee. (George Walker IV/AP)

Clarence Page: A botched execution shakes our death penalty presumptions

By Clarence Page

October 12, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The botched execution of Christa Pike offers a gross illustration of the cruelty that capital...

Chicago school board president candidates Jessica Biggs, Hilario Dominguez and Victor Henderson participate in a forum at the Copernicus Center on Sept. 29, 2026. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

David Greising: The race for Chicago school board president is about ideas — and character

By David Greising

October 10, 2026 at 10:01 a.m.

It will take savvy strategic thinking, backed by the character needed for leadership, to make...

The Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on July 8, 2020. The Supreme Court agreed on Jan. 24, 2022, to decide whether race-conscious admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina are lawful, calling into question the fate of affirmative action in higher education.

Column: Maybe ‘supply-side’ affirmative action would work better

By Clarence Page

January 25, 2022 at 5:04 p.m.

Could this be the beginning of the end for affirmative action? We've heard that question...

If you're planning for retirement in coming years, you'll need to save a lot more for medical expenses. (Dreamstime/TNS)

Terry Savage: Retiree medical costs are soaring

By Terry Savage

April 20, 2022 at 12:06 p.m.

If you're a retiree dealing with Medicare, you've just noticed that your increased (5.9%) Social...

Pedro Martinez, CEO of Chicago Public Schools, talks to reporters about COVID-19 at City Hall on Jan. 5, 2022.

Column: Chicago Public Schools online COVID-19 dashboard, accused of giving incomplete data, speaks out

By Rex W. Huppke

January 24, 2022 at 5:47 p.m.

Hi there, I'm the Chicago Public Schools COVID-19 dashboard, your go-to site for the most...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks during a news conference following the weekly Senate Republican policy luncheon on Capitol Hill on Jan. 19, 2022.

Column: Yes, Mitch McConnell, African Americans are Americans too

By Clarence Page

January 21, 2022 at 5:10 p.m.

On the matter of whether he knows that African Americans are Americans too, let's give...

Mayor Lori Lightfoot at Chicago police headquarters on Jan. 4, 2022.

Column: Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s plan to seize property from gang members is great if you like terrible ideas

By Rex W. Huppke

January 21, 2022 at 12:35 p.m.

Mayor Lori Lightfoot's plan to fix Chicago's violence crisis seems to involve trotting out ideas...

Madonna performs during halftime at Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in 2012.

Column: Our parents were scandalized by our music. But listening together — without judgment — can be relationship glue

By Heidi Stevens

June 7, 2024 at 11:51 a.m.

My son and I were driving home from school the other day when Gayle came...

Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket launches carrying passengers Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and space tourism company Blue Origin, brother Mark Bezos, Oliver Daemen and Wally Funk, from its spaceport near Van Horn, Texas, on July 20, 2021.

Column: Billionaires J.B. Pritzker and Ken Griffin to spend big on governor’s race. How about rockets instead?

By Rex W. Huppke

January 20, 2022 at 1:27 p.m.

Like most Illinoisans, I'm eager to find out which billionaire will purchase the Governor's Mansion...

Donald Trump supporters gather at a rally held by the former president at the Canyon Moon Ranch festival grounds on Jan. 15, 2022, in Florence, Arizona.

Column: Donald Trump rallies are like story time — a horror

By Clarence Page

January 18, 2022 at 5:43 p.m.

Gather around, children. It's Uncle Donald's story time again. In his first rally of the...

Andria Derio, who opposes teaching Critical Race Theory in school, wears a sign stating she will remove her children from the district should the ban not pass before the Placentia-Yorba Linda School Board on Nov. 16, 2021, in Yorba Linda, California.

Column: MLK’s dream in the era of MAGA and CRT? Still a dream.

By Clarence Page

January 14, 2022 at 3:57 p.m.

Pardon me if you've heard this story (I tell it a lot), but Martin Luther...

Column: In ‘Letters to the Sons of Society,’ author reflects on prison, a pandemic and a kinder, more just way forward

By Heidi Stevens

June 7, 2024 at 11:51 a.m.

Shaka Senghor and his 10-year-old son, Sekou, end each day with a set of affirmations....

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