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...

SF.Mystic.6.sr.12?13?94/Invert the Magic Eight?Ball for the answers to important question. photo by scott rathburn for the times

Poll: Is this the last Tweet of the Week poll? It is decidedly so

By Eric Zorn

June 25, 2021 at 11:24 a.m.

Welcome to the final Tweet of the Week poll. My deepest gratitude and thanks to...

Organizers, families, and advocacy groups hold up a banner reading "elected representative school board" as they rally outside Chicago Public Schools headquarters on May 26, 2021 to demand a vote on the elected school board bill.

Column: The laughable idea of campaign spending limits for Chicago school board elections, and other notes on the news

By Eric Zorn

June 22, 2021 at 4:30 p.m.

Backers of the recently passed bill that will result in Chicago having an elected school...

Mayor Lori Lightfoot presides over a City Council meeting May 26, 2021, at City Hall.

Column: In MLK’s footsteps, Mayor Lori Lightfoot takes on a more subtle systemic racism

By Clarence Page

June 22, 2021 at 3:42 p.m.

When Mayor Lori Lightfoot declared systemic racism to be a public health crisis in Chicago,...

The University of Illinois at Chicago campus on Oct. 6, 2020. The U. of I. will require COVID-19 vaccinations for all students attending fall classes on all three of its campuses.

Column: University of Illinois COVID-19 vaccine mandate should be applauded. It’s public health, not ideology.

By Rex W. Huppke

June 22, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

Despite considerable pushback, I stand by my controversial opinion that dying is bad. It's a...

Tribune columnist Mary Schmich reports from New Orleans on Sept. 4, 2005, during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Column: Not so long ago — 29 years — I started writing a column. This will be the last. Thank you.

By Mary Schmich

June 19, 2021 at 8:18 p.m.

In the many years that I've had the good fortune to write a column for...

Fans cheer from the grandstand on opening day at Arlington International Racecourse.

Column: The Bears might move to Arlington Heights? The suburbs are back, baby!

By John Keilman

June 19, 2021 at 10:06 a.m.

I can't lie. For a while it was rough out here in the suburbs. A...

Columnist John Kass holds the Chicago White Sox World Series trophy in 2005 in his Tribune Tower office.

Column: To my loyal readers: Until next time

By John Kass

June 18, 2021 at 5:32 p.m.

This is the most difficult column I've written in all my years at the Chicago...

Incoming Southern Baptist Convention President Ed Litton, center left, talks with outgoing President J.D. Greear at the conclusion of the annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting June 16, 2021, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Column: Southern Baptists face turmoil over critical race theory, whatever it is

By Clarence Page

June 18, 2021 at 5:34 p.m.

"Critical race theory," again? Groan. Every time I surf the news these days, those three...

baiduhai writers Eric Zorn, left, and Maurice Possley interview then-Gov. George Ryan in Chicago on Nov. 1, 2003, the day Ryan granted clemency to more than 150 Illinois death row inmates.

Column: Resolved: That Americans need to learn how to debate again

By Eric Zorn

June 18, 2021 at 5:11 p.m.

Part of me still believes in the healing power of spirited dialogue; still has faith...

The Supreme Court made a unanimous, but narrow, ruling in favor of Catholic Social Services.

Column: A Supreme Court ruling on gay rights upholds pluralism

By Steve Chapman

June 18, 2021 at 12:57 p.m.

In its Thursday decision letting a Catholic agency decline to place foster children with same-sex...

Columnists