Columns

The new Cragin Park Fieldhouse stands Oct. 15, 2026, in Chicago’s Belmont Cragin neighborhood. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Edward Keegan: Is the minimalist fieldhouse in Chicago’s Cragin Park architecture or just a building??

By Edward Keegan

October 18, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The Cragin Park Fieldhouse expresses a clear architectural character with its exposed steel structure. I...

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”...

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 27: J.D. Vance, author of the book "Hillbilly Elegy," poses for a portrait photograph near the US Capitol building in Washington, D.C., January 27, 2017. Vance has become the nation's go-to angry, white, rural translator. The book has sold almost half a million copies since late June. Vance, a product of rural Ohio, a former Marine and Yale School grad, has the nation's top-selling book. He's become a CNN commentator, in-demand speaker, and plans to move back to Ohio from SF where he's worked as a principal in an investment firm. (Photo by Astrid Riecken For The Washington Post via Getty Images) ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG, CM - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD **

Column: Requiem for ‘Hillbilly’ — Just because the film uses the slur in its title doesn’t necessarily give you permission to use it

By Eric Zorn

November 21, 2020 at 1:53 p.m.

The release earlier this month of "Hillbilly Elegy," director Ron Howard's movie for Netflix based...

Margaret Orozco pushes her bike to get tested for coronavirus outside Loretto Hospital in Chicago on April 27, 2020.

Column: It’s not too late to decide to stay home for Thanksgiving

By Mary Schmich

November 20, 2020 at 6:47 p.m.

It's not too late to decide to stay home for Thanksgiving. It may break your...

Jim Banakis in his restaurant Juicy-O in Downers Grove on Nov. 17, 2020. He's been in the business all his life.

Column: The governor born with a platinum spoon, and the restaurateurs losing everything

By John Kass

November 20, 2020 at 5:55 p.m.

When the pandemic began and Gov. J.B. Pritzker, born with that platinum spoon in his...

A few runners take part in their own marathons near 31st Street Beach in Chicago on Oct. 11, 2020.

Column: Chicago Marathon news a reminder that, in the long run, we’re going to make it through this

By Eric Zorn

November 20, 2020 at 4:43 p.m.

Thursday's announcement that the Bank of America Chicago Marathon is now officially set to step...

Detainees wait for court appearances in a holding cell at Cook County Jail in 2019.

Column: Did bail reform cause spike in Chicago violence? New research says no.

By Steve Chapman

November 20, 2020 at 3:58 p.m.

The book of Ecclesiastes advises that the Almighty sends rain to fall on both the...

Kimani, 19, works with other teens to make holiday wreaths at the LUV Institute in Chicago's Kenwood neighborhood on Nov. 19, 2020.

Column: Looking for a holiday wreath? This nonprofit sells festive decor made by Chicago’s at-risk youth.

By Heidi Stevens

November 20, 2020 at 2:56 p.m.

Cosette Nazon-Wilburn had her hands full seven years ago with the LUV Institute, the nonprofit...

Column: Social media: Everyone’s sharing, no one is taking responsibility

By Clarence Page

November 20, 2020 at 3:58 p.m.

Political correctness is not for liberals only. That immortal truth returned to center stage Wednesday...

Zooming with someone over Thanksgiving dessert is one tip from Make Room @ The Table.

Column: How to enjoy Thanksgiving alone. How to help someone who’s alone enjoy it.

By Mary Schmich

November 20, 2020 at 5:00 a.m.

Let's get one thing out of the way right away: Not everyone who lives alone...

Speaker Michael Madigan watches as the House votes on a bill at the Illinois Capitol in Springfield in 2019.

Column: As that federal bus pulls up, do Boss Madigan’s eyes see three names: Sorich, Kelly and Fawell?

By John Kass

November 20, 2020 at 5:00 a.m.

The eyes of Boss Madigan aren't all that normal. There's no trust in there. He...

An aerial view of Wrigley Field and Wrigleyville before the Chicago Cubs host the Cleveland Indians in Game 3 of the World Series, Oct. 28, 2016.

Column: Wrigley Field national landmark listing will likely mean millions for the Cubs-owning Ricketts family

By Blair Kamin

November 20, 2020 at 9:46 a.m.

It's not quite like winning the World Series, but getting listed as a National Historic...

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