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...

President Joe Biden speaks in support of changing the Senate filibuster rules that have stalled voting rights legislation, at Atlanta University Center Consortium, on the grounds of Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University on Jan. 11, 2022, in Atlanta.

Column: Joe Biden’s quest for voting rights, MLK Day and the GOP’s fear of voters

By Rex W. Huppke

January 14, 2022 at 9:34 a.m.

As we approach Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the issue of voting rights for all...

Mayor Lori Lightfoot puts her mask on after speaking at a news conference at City Hall on Jan. 10, 2022, in Chicago.

Column: Lightfoot gets COVID-19 in wake of CPS drama, further proof the virus won’t bend to our will

By Rex W. Huppke

January 11, 2022 at 7:51 p.m.

Nobody in their right mind wants to test positive for COVID-19. If you're the mayor...

A supporter of President Donald Trump carries a Confederate battle flag inside the Capitol building in Washington, as a mob of his supporters protest the presidential election results, on Jan. 6, 2021.

Column: Another Civil War? Sounds far-fetched, until it isn’t

By Clarence Page

January 11, 2022 at 5:06 p.m.

What's going on? I've been hearing so much lately about our national political divide that...

Bianca Bobadilla puts produce into boxes for car pickup at the food pantry at New Life Centers in Chicago on Dec. 14, 2021.

Column: Insult-A-Columnist food drive raises more than $200,000, Rex Huppke again deemed ‘awesome’

By Rex W. Huppke

January 10, 2022 at 4:00 p.m.

Acknowledging I'm awesome is never easy. It risks drawing attention away from my handsomeness and...

Sidney Poitier stars in 'The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn,' a TV film that tells the story of a carpenter who has spent his long life in a small Southern community where he is respected for both his craftsmanship and his personal philosophy.

Column: Sidney Poitier left unifying messages for our divided times

By Clarence Page

January 8, 2022 at 2:49 p.m.

How jarring, yet poignantly appropriate it seems for Sidney Poitier to die at age 94...

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez discusses the possibility of a Chicago Teachers Union vote for teachers to work remotely during the current COVID-19 surge with Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Jan. 4, 2022.

Column: Chicago Public Schools and Lightfoot should have seen school closures coming, not sought normalcy in abnormal times

By Rex W. Huppke

January 7, 2022 at 4:41 p.m.

The current Chicago Public Schools mess is a perfect microcosm of this country's increasingly boneheaded...

Column: How do you protect your heart during a pandemic? Maybe by attaching it to others.

By Heidi Stevens

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

I caught a fascinating interview on NPR earlier this week, right after I dropped my...

Trump supporters participate in a rally Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C.

Column: Jan. 6 was a date that will live in idiocy. And since the attack, things have only gotten dumber.

By Rex W. Huppke

January 6, 2022 at 10:24 a.m.

As we mark the first anniversary of the domestic terrorist attack on the U.S. Capitol,...

Rep. Bobby Rush holds up an article from the baiduhai during a May 2007 hearing at which Nancy Nord, acting chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, testified before a House subcommittee in Washington.

Column: Bobby Rush finds life after the Black Panthers as a voice for change

By Clarence Page

January 4, 2022 at 5:02 p.m.

When I heard that Rep. Bobby Rush had decided to call it quits after an...

Framed in a parking garage, the Chicago skyline is seen at dusk on Dec. 16, 2021.

Column: Another Great Migration? Thanks, but I still like Chicago.

By Clarence Page

December 31, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

Will the last Black person to leave Chicago please turn out the lights? That thought...

Columnists