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...

Grief counselor Judy Schiffman holds a book she created along with artist Steve Musgrave and retired Chicago Public Library Director Liz McChesney on Jan. 6, 2021, in Chicago. The book, "Keke's Super-Strong Double Hugs," is aimed at helping kids navigate the emotions of a pandemic.

Column: A pandemic picture book, brought to life by 3 Chicagoans who know grief, literature and art

By Heidi Stevens

January 29, 2021 at 6:55 p.m.

When Liz McChesney was director of citywide children's services at the Chicago Public Library, she...

Bob Dole, who overcame disabling war wounds to become a sharp-tongued Senate leader from Kansas, a Republican presidential candidate and then a symbol and celebrant of his dwindling generation of World War II veterans, died at age 98 on Dec. 5, 2021.

Appreciation: Cicely Tyson rewrote Black heroism on screen, transcendently

By Michael Phillips

January 29, 2021 at 12:32 p.m.

A great actor's screen breakthrough tells at least two stories. The triumphant one is about...

A resident of The Villages in Florida in "Some Kind of Heaven," a new documentary about the retirement community and aging.

Column: Late in life, do you want to surround yourself with oldsters? Florida-set documentary ‘Some Kind of Heaven’ exposes the pitfalls

By Chris Jones

January 29, 2021 at 7:03 a.m.

I once asked Bernie Sahlins, the co-founder and former owner of the Chicago comedy theater...

Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse Sharkey speaks at Uplift Community High School in the Uptown neighborhood on January 12, 2021.

Column: CTU’s Sharkey for mayor? Why not, isn’t he already the boss?

By John Kass

January 29, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

Shouldn't Chicago just get it over with now and make Chicago Teachers Union President Jesse...

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., talks to a colleague with her "Trump Won" face mask pulled down on the floor of the House before taking the oath of office on opening day of the 117th Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 3, 2021.

Column: In defense of Marjorie Taylor Greene: Think of all the times she HASN’T wanted to execute Democrats

By Rex W. Huppke

January 29, 2021 at 5:59 p.m.

Hello, I am a congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives, and it has come...

Englewood resident Fannie Peeples gets a Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine from Friend Health nurse Syreetta Stinson at the Peace House of I Grow Chicago, March 26, 2021. I Grow Chicago teamed with Friend Health to provide 150 vaccines, coffee and doughnuts at the event.

Column: Trying to get a COVID vaccine is like playing roulette

By Mary Schmich

January 29, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

Welcome, everybody, to vaccine roulette! It's a crazy, new game that requires great endurance, an...

Taylor Hammond, owner of StopAlong, delivers pizzas he made for families in need who reached out to Robert Magiet, on Jan. 28, 2021, in Chicago.

Column: Cafe owner goes around buying all of vendors’ tamales and giving them to homeless. ‘I’m just trying to help people who need food.’

By Heidi Stevens

January 28, 2021 at 6:14 p.m.

Robert Magiet was driving through Humboldt Park last Friday morning, the temperature outside barely breaking...

Parishioners raise their hands in worship as the Rev. Michael Pfleger leads the Sunday morning service at St. Sabina Church on June 6, 2021. "It's good to be home," an emotional Pfleger said to a packed and jubilant crowd at St. Sabina Church — his first time leading a congregation in five months.

Column: Rev. Michael Pfleger can’t be criminally tried on old sex abuse claims, so let’s hear from him

By Eric Zorn

January 28, 2021 at 3:51 p.m.

The Rev. Michael Pfleger can't be charged or prosecuted based on the recent claims of...

Recycling in America is a mess. But there's a way to clean it up. New York state legislators have drafted a bill that could set a precedent for other states.

Column: Recycling in America is a mess. A new bill could clean it up.

By The New York Times

January 28, 2021 at 12:34 p.m.

The recycling business in America is in a heap of trouble. The environmental and economic...

President Joe Biden speaks about climate change Jan. 27, 2021, in the State Dining Room of the White House.

Column: If Biden and Democrats truly support ‘equity,’ why are they silent on school choice?

By John Kass

January 28, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

This is National School Choice Week, and if there's been one benefit to the pandemic...

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