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...

Scaled-down, 29-story apartment tower proposed for Barnes & Noble site on Near North Side

By Ryan Ori

October 14, 2020 at 2:24 p.m.

More than a year after withdrawing plans to replace a former Barnes & Noble bookstore...

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden arrives to speak at Miramar Regional Park in Florida on Oct. 13.

Column: Why hasn’t Joe Biden said no to Democratic threats to pack the Supreme Court?

By John Kass

October 14, 2020 at 1:00 a.m.

Will Joe Biden's stubborn insistence that Americans "don't deserve" to know where he stands on...

President Donald Trump tosses MAGA face masks into the crowd of cheering supporters as he arrives for a campaign rally at Orlando Sanford International Airport in on Oct. 12, 2020 in Sanford, Florida.

Column: Trump’s dance, McConnell’s COVID cackle show reckless disregard for surging coronavirus pandemic

By Rex W. Huppke

October 14, 2020 at 2:55 p.m.

President Donald Trump thinks he's handling the coronavirus pandemic so well he started dancing at...

Column: The great unanswered question in the presidential race is not the one about ‘court packing’

By Eric Zorn

October 14, 2020 at 10:58 a.m.

It's vexing, I admit, that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his surrogates have been...

William Null, right, stands armed in a gallery of the Michigan Capitol in Lansing during an April 30, 2020, rally demanding the reopening of businesses. Null is one of several charged Oct. 8 for allegedly seeking to storm the Michigan Capitol and seek a "civil war."

Column: How hatred became all the rage in our politics

By Clarence Page

October 13, 2020 at 1:42 p.m.

Are we Americans hating more now but enjoying it less? Let me count the ways:...

Mailboxes in Annapolis, Maryland, on Aug. 18, 2020.

Column: A pre-election/pre-Halloween tour of the Reader Fan Mail Dungeon, where decency goes to die

By Rex W. Huppke

October 13, 2020 at 1:00 a.m.

As we find ourselves at the quadrennial confluence of Halloween season and election season, it...

Amur leopard at the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens reopens today, but at only 50% capacity, on Wednesday, May 13, 2020.
(Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda/ Orlando Sentinel)

The Tweet of the Week poll, it doth rule

By Eric Zorn

October 16, 2020 at 2:44 p.m.

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

Lincoln Yards’ $35 million bridge, with bike and pedestrian lanes, moves closer to reality

By Ryan Ori

October 12, 2020 at 1:43 p.m.

Lincoln Yards' developer plans to start building a bridge across the Chicago River by next...

President Donald Trump arrives to speak from the South Portico of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020.

Column: African Americans can teach white liberals how to cope with their hatred for Donald Trump

By Dahleen Glanton

October 12, 2020 at 8:07 p.m.

My heart goes out to my liberal white friends who are struggling to deal with...

Michael Null, left, and William Null, right, arrive at the American Patriot Rally, organized by Michigan United for Liberty, to demand the reopening of businesses on the steps of the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing on April 30, 2020.

Column: What the plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer tells us about militant extremists

By Clarence Page

October 12, 2020 at 10:08 a.m.

Sometimes it hurts to be right. I have received more than a little mockery in...

Columnists