Columns

Former Indiana U,S. Rep. Lee Hamilton, who was co-chair of the Iraq Study Group, in his office at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington on Nov. 24, 2006. (Pete Souza/baiduhai)

John T. Shaw: We need Congress to ponder the long term with a new future-focused group

By John T. Shaw

October 14, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Half a century ago, many lawmakers viewed their responsibilities differently and created a forum to...

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...

A Lake County sheriff's deputy watches protesters outside the Lake County Courthouse on Sept. 25, 2020, in Waukegan. An extradition hearing was being held inside for Kyle Rittenhouse, of Antioch, who is charged in the fatal shootings of Anthony Huber and Joseph Rosenbaum in August during protests in Kenosha.

Column: The men Rittenhouse shot can’t be called ‘victims’? OK, judge. Maybe you should just call the defendant ‘widdle baby Kyle.’

By Rex W. Huppke

October 27, 2021 at 10:52 a.m.

The judge in Kyle Rittenhouse's upcoming murder trial has laid out some early ground rules...

Joe Manchin, D- W.Va., speaks at a news conference outside his office on Capitol Hill on Oct. 6, 2021 in Washington, D.C.

Column: Republicans happily watch Democrats destroy themselves

By Clarence Page

October 26, 2021 at 4:15 p.m.

A couple of recent studies by experts who examine what makes us Americans tick politically...

Cargo planes are visible behind the Bell Bowl Prairie adjacent to Chicago Rockford International Airport on Oct. 20, 2021, in Winnebago County.

Column: Rockford airport officials have the chance to shock us — by doing the right thing for a prairie

By Rex W. Huppke

October 25, 2021 at 5:30 p.m.

I'm offering members of the Chicago Rockford International Airport board a chance to make themselves...

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies at a House Judiciary Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 21, 2021 in Washington. Garland fielded many questions regarding first amendment issues related to school board meetings and efforts to prevent violence against public officials. (Photo by Greg Nash-Pool/Getty Images) ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, CM - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD **

Column: Concerned parents aren’t ‘domestic terrorists,’ except when they behave like one

By Clarence Page

October 22, 2021 at 3:16 p.m.

I don't recall much about the first local school board meeting that I ever covered,...

Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in January 2021.

Column: Pete Buttigieg’s paternity leave nudges America closer to what families need. His critics are all wrong.

By Heidi Stevens

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

In a perfect world, Pete and Chasten Buttigieg would adopt baby Penelope and baby Joseph...

Pumpkins at the Lincoln Park Zoo on Oct. 14, 2021.

Column: Climate change might melt Illinois’ pumpkin prowess. Will we address the problem? Don’t be silly.

By Rex W. Huppke

October 22, 2021 at 1:10 p.m.

Halloween is a time to fear things that don't exist: monsters, ghouls, goblins. Maybe a...

A protest sign reading "Stop cutting down trees. Move OPC." is towed by an airplane near the site for the official groundbreaking of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago's Jackson Park on Sept. 28, 2021.

Column: Obama Center symbolizes a great moment for Chicago — but at a cost of urban green space

By Ron Grossman

October 22, 2021 at 9:10 a.m.

Just before a groundbreaking ceremony for the Obama Presidential Center on Sept. 28, an airplane...

Chicago police officers line up for roll call in Hermosa Park on Oct. 8, 2018.

Column: Fire the cops who won’t comply with Chicago’s vaccine mandate

By Rex W. Huppke

October 20, 2021 at 10:16 a.m.

I have a foolproof solution to Chicago's problem with cops who refuse to comply with...

Then-Secretary of State Colin Powell hosts "Be Heard: An MTV Global Discussion"in Washington on Feb. 14, 2002.

Column: Colin Powell, we’ll miss you in the ‘sensible center’

By Clarence Page

October 19, 2021 at 4:09 p.m.

When I heard that former Secretary of State Colin Powell had died, my mind raced...

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

Column: We can’t let ongoing election lies become political white noise. A Jan. 6 defendant’s words show why.

By Rex W. Huppke

October 18, 2021 at 5:25 p.m.

Daniel "D.J." Rodriguez, one of the hundreds charged in the Jan. 6 domestic terrorist attack...

Columnists