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...

State Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch talks to lawmakers at the Capitol in Springfield on May 25, 2016.

Column: Welch’s past should’ve prompted Illinois Democrats to slow down election of new speaker

By Eric Zorn

January 15, 2021 at 8:49 p.m.

I'm certainly hoping that newly elected Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch has the leadership skills,...

The Illinois flag flaps at the State Capitol in Springfield on Jan. 13, 2021.

Column: A ‘new day’ or same old for Illinois taxpayers?

By John Kass

January 15, 2021 at 6:31 p.m.

What do Illinois taxpayers see? They see Joe Biden becoming president and Boss Madigan's man...

Harrison Conley works the assembly line at Navistar in Melrose Park in November 2010.

Navistar to shut down, lay off workers and sell its 84-acre manufacturing facility in Melrose Park, which is set for redevelopment

By Ryan Ori

January 15, 2021 at 5:03 p.m.

Truck maker Navistar International plans to shut down and sell its Melrose Park manufacturing campus...

Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., third from right, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, second from left, are applauded by Republican members of Congress after they objected to the certification of the electoral votes for the state of Arizona on Jan. 6, 2021.

Column: The time for healing is after the cancer of Trumpism has been removed

By Steve Chapman

January 15, 2021 at 1:18 p.m.

Emotions were raw during Wednesday's House impeachment debate, but Republicans were in a conciliatory mood....

A member of the National Guard stands behind a fence toped with razor wire on Capitol Hill a week after a pro-Trump mob broke into and took over the Capitol, Jan. 14, 2021, in Washington.

Column: Searching for hope in a capital city under tight security

By Clarence Page

January 17, 2021 at 11:55 a.m.

If there are any silver linings to be found amid the big clouds of bad...

Jen Majerus stands on the balcony of her high-rise condo in the South Loop while participating in the Chicago Unite at Night singalong and light show for International Nurses Week on May 7, 2020. Mayor Lori Lightfoot is asking Chicagoans to participate in a citywide COVID-19 memorial on Jan. 19, 2021.

Column: Darkness to light: Chicagoans invited to turn out lights, hold moment of silence for COVID-19 victims. I love this idea.

By Heidi Stevens

January 15, 2021 at 2:39 p.m.

Early in the coronavirus pandemic — March, April — South Loop residents embarked on a...

Hand sanitizer at Lincoln Park Athletic Club in Chicago on Oct. 22, 2020.

Column: Staring through the window at the gym, thinking: One day, but not yet

By Mary Schmich

January 15, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

I walked past my old gym the other evening. It was 6 p.m., already deeply...

Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy walks onto the field before the start of a game against the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field in Chicago on Nov. 16, 2020.

Column: Corporate weasel words pave the road to Bears fans hell

By John Kass

January 15, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

As if COVID-19 wasn't enough, a new terrible illness sweeps across Illinois: Taxpayerticulitis. The symptoms...

Column: Trump must admit he was lying about a ‘stolen election’ before more Americans get killed

By Rex W. Huppke

January 15, 2021 at 5:00 a.m.

We have thousands of National Guard troops in the nation's capitol for one reason. We...

Armed men inside the Michigan State Capitol during a march for the right to bear arms in Lansing on Sept. 17, 2020.

Column: Threats of inauguration-related violence underscore the need to ban open carry

By Eric Zorn

January 14, 2021 at 4:05 p.m.

Remember those unsettling photos and videos from the protest inside the Michigan Capitol in April?...

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