Columns

Comedian and political satirist Bill Maher waves to the stage during the 27th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor celebrating Maher on June 29, 2026, in Washington. (Kevin Wolf/AP)

Clarence Page: Beware the charm of our rising chatbots

By Clarence Page

October 19, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Besides the existential risks of artificial intelligence, consider how AI chatbots insinuate themselves in the...

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 19, 2026 at 8:09 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...

Notes on a closed office of the Illinois Department of Employment Security at 2444 W. Lawrence Ave. in Chicago on July 14, 2020.

Column: Meet the career problem solver charged with fixing Illinois’ unemployment system

By Eric Zorn

October 16, 2020 at 4:13 p.m.

In his remarks at the close of the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly...

Dr. Scott Atlas, a White House adviser on the coronavirus, right, with President Donald Trump during a briefing at the White House on Sept. 23, 2020.

Column: ‘Herd immunity’ idea rears its head again — and still deserves to be struck down

By Clarence Page

October 16, 2020 at 2:24 p.m.

Although he's reluctant to say it out loud, President Donald Trump appears to be disturbingly...

President Donald Trump gestures as he speaks during an NBC News town hall event at the Perez Art Museum in Miami on Oct. 15, 2020, and Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden participates in an ABC News town hall event at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia on Oct. 15, 2020.

Column: Trump and Biden town halls showed us two worlds, and only one of them is terrifying

By Rex W. Huppke

October 16, 2020 at 12:31 p.m.

Toggling between former Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump taking questions in separate...

Facebook said on Oct. 14, 2020, that it would limit distribution on its platform of a New York Post story about Hunter Biden.

Column: Big Tech slaps The New York Post to shield Joe Biden

By John Kass

October 16, 2020 at 1:00 a.m.

The cartoon version of how Americans would lose their intellectual liberty usually involved fire and...

Letters sent by Catherine Moran Lee in 1945 to her husband, Leo Lee, who was was serving in the war.

1945 WWII letters found, returned

By Contributed Content

October 16, 2020 at 3:12 p.m.

After police Officer Eric Wolforth found airmail letters from 1945 in an Andersonville alley, he...

Jim Loewenberg, prolific Chicago developer who backed Lakeshore East and its Aqua and Vista towers, dies at 86

By Blair Kamin

October 16, 2020 at 1:23 p.m.

Prolific Chicago real estate developer Jim Loewenberg, who joined with partner Joel Carlins to transform...

Chicago 7 defendant Abbie Hoffman at the federal building in Chicago during his trial Oct. 2, 1969.

Column: When you watch Aaron Sorkin’s Chicago 7 movie, remember juror Mrs. Jean Fritz

By Mary Schmich

October 16, 2020 at 9:12 a.m.

Today would be a good day to remember Mrs. Jean Fritz. Fritz was a juror...

Supporters of President Donald Trump wave flags at Skylands Stadium during an election rally on Oct. 14, 2020 in Augusta, New Jersey.

Column: Like this time in 2016, Trump looks doomed to defeat — that’s why Democrats are worried

By Eric Zorn

October 15, 2020 at 4:51 p.m.

Four years ago at this time — the middle of October 2016, just weeks from...

Graduate Evanston is in the former Homestead apartment and hotel building in Evanston, near Northwestern University.

College-focused Graduate Hotels is opening near Northwestern’s campus. It comes at an unprecedented time for hotels and universities.

By Ryan Ori

October 15, 2020 at 1:10 p.m.

Six years after launching a brand of college-focused hotels, a well-known Chicago developer is ready...

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden during a campaign event in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Oct. 13, 2020.

Column: Joe Biden had this impeachment thing that was bleepin’ golden, but Hunter Biden messes it up

By John Kass

October 15, 2020 at 1:00 a.m.

Isn't it odd that Joe Biden and the Democrats have somehow forgotten to use their...

Columnists