Columns

A young woman reacts as she looks at her damaged home after Russia's night missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 14, 2026. (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Trump’s abhorrent Russian diesel deal defies US laws and won’t lower gas prices

By Elizabeth Shackelford

October 16, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Donald Trump has illegally undone sanctions efforts against Russia. For all of this, Americans won’t...

Saturday Night Live Host Shane Gillis during the monologue on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. (Will Heath/NBC/TNS)

Heidi Stevens: Shane Gillis ‘SNL’ opener misses the mark — and the moment

By Heidi Stevens

October 16, 2026 at 4:00 a.m.

The most disappointing thing about Shane Gillis’ shopworn, hackneyed, tone-deaf, retrograde, unfunny “Saturday Night Live”...

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...

Column: Daily Herald exec who died saving kids in rip current showed the importance of doing the right thing

By Rex W. Huppke

April 1, 2021 at 12:14 p.m.

Let's take a break from scrutinizing people doing the wrong thing and focus on someone...

Attendees sit on the ground near the Perry's stage after the final act of the day at Lollapalooza 2015.

Column: Too soon for Lolla? 6 ideas for Chicago’s summer of live entertainment

By Chris Jones

April 1, 2021 at 7:00 a.m.

In the dizzying ride that is COVID-19 recovery, a roller coaster with gut-churning peaks and...

Column: Bodycam footage of police berating and threatening a student is 51 minutes of horror

By Dahleen Glanton

April 1, 2021 at 5:14 a.m.

A student in Maryland struck a teacher, broke a computer and stormed out of the...

The Ever Given makes its way through the Suez Canal in Egypt after being freed on March 29, 2021.

Column: Roll up your sleeve for the March moutza

By John Kass

April 1, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

We've had an amazingly lush crop of blithering idiots, nincompoops, ninnyhammers, dunderwhelps and jerks over...

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, center, reviews an honor guard at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, on March 21, 2021. Austin arrived in Kabul on his first trip to Afghanistan as Pentagon chief, amid swirling questions about how long American troops will remain in the country.

Column: Will Biden end the war in Afghanistan? Don’t bet on it.

By Steve Chapman

March 31, 2021 at 5:02 p.m.

The U.S. mission in Afghanistan is nearly old enough to buy a beer, having gone...

Readers’ 10 favorite Heidi Stevens columns

By Contributed Content

March 31, 2021 at 11:02 a.m.

Click through to see 10 of Tribune columnist Heidi Stevens' columns that are reader favorites....

Column: Asian American judge challenges racism inherent in ‘equity’

By John Kass

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

Have you read, heard or seen that important news story about an Asian American federal...

Dr. Ben Levy, a gastroenterologist and a cello player, in the endoscopy suite at Mount Sinai Hospital on March 30, 2021. Through the pandemic, he has organized virtual concerts designed not only to entertain but to educate people about COVID-19.

Column: A cello-playing Chicago gastroenterologist organizes free star-studded online concert Wednesday for a great cause

By Mary Schmich

March 31, 2021 at 1:58 p.m.

Ben Levy may not be the world's only cello-playing gastroenterologist, but it's safe to bet...

Sept. 11, 2020: Students from School District 25 complete their e-learning in the multipurpose room in South Middle School in Arlington Heights. The students are enrolled in a Park District program called Children at Play Plus. The program is an all-day child care program housed at the school where they are cared for and supervised by Park District staff.

Column: Those who believed COVID-19 would be ‘almost gone’ by April are the real fools

By Eric Zorn

March 30, 2021 at 5:39 p.m.

"I expect Covid will be mostly gone by April, allowing Americans to resume normal life,"...

In this image from video, defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, and former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin listen as Assistant Minnesota Attorney General Matthew Frank questions witness Donald Williams on March 30, 2021, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis.

Column: Witnesses to George Floyd’s killing couldn’t save his life, but their testimony ensures his death was not in vain

By Dahleen Glanton

March 30, 2021 at 5:14 p.m.

Many of us did not want to watch George Floyd suffer. Not again. In nearly...

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