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...

In this screen grab from video, former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin is seen during victim impact statements on June 25, 2021, in Minneapolis.

Column: Derek Chauvin’s sentence for murdering George Floyd and the right’s fight to focus on anything but race

By Rex W. Huppke

June 25, 2021 at 7:36 p.m.

There was a swirl of courtroom statements and news coverage Friday as former Minneapolis police...

Then-Vice President Joe Biden, center, joins police officers for a group photo with President Barack Obama during a National Association of Police Organizations event at the White House in 2014.

Column: Can Biden chill the spike in gun violence? He knows he must try.

By Clarence Page

June 25, 2021 at 2:17 p.m.

Let's start with a guessing game: Which presidential hopeful made the following boast about how...

Ward Miller of Preservation Chicago speaks as protesters rally outside the Thompson Center on June 23, 2021, in an effort to save the building from possible redevelopment.

Advisory council backs Thompson Center nomination to National Register of Historic Places, despite state opposition

By Ryan Ori

June 25, 2021 at 2:50 p.m.

A state advisory council Friday voted to nominate the James R. Thompson Center for the...

Tribune columnist Eric Zorn on guitar at the "Songs of Good Cheer" charity fundraising event at the Old Town School of Folk Music in 2015.

Column: Saying goodbye to the lows and highs of a life in newspapers

By Eric Zorn

June 25, 2021 at 1:02 p.m.

The lowest moment in the first 19 years of my life occurred late on a...

Google's Midwest headquarters is seen Feb. 5, 2019, in Chicago's Fulton Market District. The building, known as 1KFulton, is on the northwest corner of Fulton Market and Morgan Street.

1KFulton, home to Google’s Midwest headquarters, selling for $357 million in second-biggest Fulton Market deal

By Ryan Ori

June 24, 2021 at 2:32 p.m.

The Fulton Market building that is home to Google's Midwest headquarters is selling for $357...

Runners start the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 12, 2014.

Column: You didn’t ask, but here are some words to live by in the long run

By Eric Zorn

June 24, 2021 at 1:50 p.m.

Another dispatch from Somebody Nobody AskedTM, America's preeminent unsolicited advice columnist. In January 1998 I...

International Terminal 5 was quiet earlier this year at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. The lack of visitors from other countries leaves a hole in our city this summer.

Column: Chicago, we miss our international visitors more than we realize

By Chris Jones

June 24, 2021 at 7:00 a.m.

Even as diners crowd Chicago's sidewalks and lakefront paths are crammed with happy joggers, there's...

Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley testifies before a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on June 17, 2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Column: Army general shoots down GOP’s ‘critical race theory’ hysteria: ‘It matters to our military.’ Amen.

By Rex W. Huppke

June 23, 2021 at 6:35 p.m.

The heaving hysteria over critical race theory, showing up now in state legislatures and school...

Column: After 32 years, it’s time for me to go — on my own terms

By Dahleen Glanton

June 23, 2021 at 4:26 p.m.

In 1989, I decided to leave the Los Angeles Times — my fifth reporting job...

Architect Helmut Jahn looks over drawings of his State of Illinois Center in 1980.

State agencies expected to oppose adding Helmut Jahn’s Thompson Center to National Register of Historic Places

By Ryan Ori

June 22, 2021 at 4:16 p.m.

Preservationists fear two Illinois agencies will oppose having the James R. Thompson Center added to...

Columnists