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...

Aquilino Gonell wipes his eyes as he testifies during the House select committee hearing on the Jan. 6 attack on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, USA, on Tuesday, July 27, 2021. (Andrew Harnik/Pool/ABACAPRESS.COM/TNS)

Column: We were supposed to rebound and rejoice this summer. Instead, we’re learning that recovery can’t be rushed.

By Heidi Stevens

June 7, 2024 at 11:52 a.m.

Aquilino Gonell wipes his eyes as he testifies during the House select committee hearing on...

Nyjah Johnson, 19, from left, David Gonzalez, executive director of The Port Ministries, Cosette Nazon-Wilburn, executive director of LUV Institute, and Nadia John, 24, are collaborating on Chicago Stories on the Block, a new storytelling, visual and performance art project.

Column: Chicago youth storytelling program focuses on art and beauty, not violence

By Rex W. Huppke

July 30, 2021 at 12:33 p.m.

Nyjah Johnson is searching her Englewood neighborhood for stories untold, stories that push back on...

Column: Showtime’s ‘The Chi’ had real potential, where did it go? What Chicago story is it telling as Season 4 ends?

By Nina Metz

July 30, 2021 at 8:27 a.m.

By any measure, hitting the four-season mark is a decent marker of success for a...

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

Column: Inside the GOP response to the Jan. 6 hearings: If all else fails, start chanting ‘LOCK HER UP!’

By Rex W. Huppke

July 28, 2021 at 5:11 p.m.

Through one of my well-placed (and possibly imaginary) sources, I have received this VERY NOT...

Salesforce Tower Chicago under construction near the Merchandise Mart in Chicago on March 11, 2021.

Kirkland & Ellis eyes massive office lease at 60-story Salesforce Tower, which will open in early 2023

By Ryan Ori

July 27, 2021 at 1:50 p.m.

After a record-setting year for revenue, law firm Kirkland & Ellis is eyeing a massive...

The sun rises over a memorial to George Floyd in Minneapolis on June 25, 2021, the day that former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin was scheduled to be sentenced.

Column: George Floyd Square stands strong as some try to bulldoze it with ‘critical race theory’ hysteria

By Rex W. Huppke

July 27, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

It's Sunday and there's a respectful silence at George Floyd Square, as if people's voices...

Longtime Washington state youth pastor Bryce Brewer apologized on Facebook for comments that would require girls to wear one-piece swimsuits at a summer camp.

Column: ‘I am sorry I laid the weight of purity on a girl’s swimsuit.’ What a pastor’s apology can teach us about this moment

By Heidi Stevens

June 7, 2024 at 11:52 a.m.

It started with an apology. Bryce Brewer, a longtime youth pastor in Spokane Valley, Washington,...

In this April 15, 2019 file photo, Rep. Tim Rudd, R-Murfreesboro, speaks during a House session in Nashville, Tenn. Rudd, the sponsor of Tennessee's new law requiring businesses and government facilities to post signs if they let transgender people access their preferred, multi-person public bathrooms now says those who refuse could face up to six months in jail. Rudd said this week that the misdemeanor penalty could apply.

Column: Cynical GOP laws barring transgender youth from sports will fail, but kids will be hurt along the way

By Rex W. Huppke

July 23, 2021 at 8:10 a.m.

More than 250 bills seeking to limit the rights of LGBT people have been brought...

Workers set up Grant Park in Chicago on July 21, 2021, for the upcoming Lollapalooza music festival.

Column: Lollapalooza feels like a COVID mistake waiting to happen

By Rex W. Huppke

July 28, 2021 at 9:55 p.m.

The Lollapalooza music festival and the delta coronavirus variant are on a collision course in...

Column: Biden is ‘rightfully and respectfully’ president, Capitol rioter says at sentencing as consequences bring truth

By Rex W. Huppke

July 20, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

As he faced the Dawn of Consequences, Paul Allard Hodgkins, a 38-year-old Florida man who...

Columnists