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...

STOCK EXCHANGE | Stock exchanges are formal systems that facilitate the trading (selling and buying) of securities. Each exchange is made up of several corporations and each nation has one or more exchanges. The U.S. is home to several exchanges, the most important being the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System (NASDAQ.) While the NYSE is based on Wall Street in New York City, NASDAQ is the largest electronic screen-based exchange.

Column: Reddit, GameStop, AMC and the day traders’ stock surge: A completely useless explanation

By Rex W. Huppke

January 28, 2021 at 10:39 a.m.

The financial world has been consumed by news that a swarm of ordinary investors from...

President Joe Biden, shown at the White House on Jan. 26, wants to provide additional stimulus checks of $1,400 to the majority of Americans.

Column: $1,400 stimulus payments for most Americans would be a waste of money

By Steve Chapman

January 27, 2021 at 1:59 p.m.

Last spring, the Treasury Department sent out "economic impact payments" to some 160 million people,...

Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway and her daughter Claudia take their seats at the Women's Empowerment Panel on March 29, 2017, at the White House in Washington.

Column: Why parents shouldn’t tune out the Claudia and Kellyanne Conway story. (Hint: Our kids aren’t.)

By Heidi Stevens

January 27, 2021 at 6:03 p.m.

I was curious whether the Claudia Conway story was coming up in family therapy sessions,...

Column: Charging teens as adults won’t stop carjackings. It will create tougher criminals.

By Dahleen Glanton

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

Without question, the carjacking in Addison was heinous. A 20-year-old woman was walking to her...

Members of St. Sabina Church gather to speak in support of the Rev. Michael Pfleger on Jan. 25, 2021, after two brothers made sexual abuse allegations against him.

Column: As institutions fade, a key question: ‘Who charts Chicago’s future and what does it look like?’

By John Kass

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

For many decades, Chicago has been a Catholic town, through its politically influential congregations and...

Jesse Dascola shovels the sidewalk for elderly and disabled residents as part of the 40th Ward's snow shoveling volunteer program in Chicago on Jan. 26, 2021.

Column: In praise of good neighbors

By Mary Schmich

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

My downstairs neighbors, Dan and Allie, announced a couple of weeks ago that they're moving...

President Joe Biden speaks during the 59th Presidential Inauguration at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

Folks, you’re going to like the new Tweet of the Week poll

By Eric Zorn

January 29, 2021 at 12:13 p.m.

Instructions: Click the box next to each tweet that amuses you -- no limit to...

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: Don’t make up your mind yet about the sexual abuse accusations against Rev. Michael Pfleger

By Eric Zorn

January 26, 2021 at 3:27 p.m.

The accusations against South Side activist priest the Rev. Michael Pfleger are, in a word,...

Outgoing President Donald Trump addresses guests at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Jan. 20, 2021.

Column: Trump the kingmaker — but at what cost to the GOP?

By Clarence Page

January 26, 2021 at 2:47 p.m.

If you can't be a king, goes an old nugget of political wisdom, be a...

Pedestrians walk along Wacker Drive as snow falls in Chicago's Loop on Jan. 26, 2021.

Column: Will remote learning spell the end of snow days? I sure hope not.

By Heidi Stevens

January 26, 2021 at 3:16 p.m.

Paul Druzinsky, head of school at the Avery Coonley School in Downers Grove, sent an...

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