Columns

President Donald Trump, right, meets with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, left, for bilateral talks at Beştepe Presidential Compound during the NATO Summit on July 8, 2026, in Ankara, Turkey. (Win McNamee/Getty)

Daniel DePetris: Donald Trump’s fight with Volodymyr Zelenskyy reveals a deeper frustration

By Daniel DePetris

October 20, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The likely driver for the latest fight over Ukraine is that the war Donald Trump...

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...

President Donald Trump stands on stage with First Lady Melania Trump after the first presidential debate with Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden, Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Column: When the president has COVID-19 and all the news is scary and you don’t know what to believe: Call a therapist. (I have extra if you need one.)

By Heidi Stevens

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

What do you do when the president and first lady test positive for COVID-19, hours...

President Donald Trump holds up his face mask during the first presidential debate on Sept. 29, 2020, at Case Western University and Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland.

Column: The price of Trump’s reckless COVID-19 conduct

By Steve Chapman

October 2, 2020 at 12:33 p.m.

President Donald Trump is likely to survive his infection with the coronavirus. But it's hard...

President Donald Trump waves to reporters as he and the first lady, Melania Trump, arrive in Cleveland for the first presidential debate on Sept. 29, 2020. Trump revealed early Friday, Oct. 2, that he and his wife had tested positive for the coronavirus.

Column: Trump’s COVID-19 infection an opportunity for American unity

By Clarence Page

October 2, 2020 at 1:23 p.m.

Shortly after President Donald Trump tweeted the unsettling news that he and first lady Melania...

Chris Duncan, whose 75-year-old mother Constance died from COVID on her birthday, walks through a COVID Memorial Project installation of 200,000 U.S. flags on the National Mall in Washington as the United States crosses the 200,000 lives lost in the COVID-19 pandemic on Sept. 22, 2020.

Column: COVID hits the White House that played it down. Don’t gloat — vote.

By Rex W. Huppke

October 2, 2020 at 2:47 p.m.

Viruses are opportunistic, and the coronavirus has now seized the opportunity to infect President Donald...

Column: Once we had comedy. Now we’ve got ‘This is Us In Space.’

By John Kass

October 2, 2020 at 8:52 a.m.

Just for a minute can we stop fighting about our politics — which essentially involves...

The secured drop box inside the Chicago Board of Elections' Loop Super Site on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2020.

Column: The year of voting nervously, very, very nervously

By Mary Schmich

October 2, 2020 at 1:00 a.m.

My 2020 presidential ballot came in the mail last week. I plucked it from the...

People fill out their ballot during early voting at Welles Park in Chicago, Oct. 14, 2020.

Column: Pro: Call it ‘fair’ or ‘foul,’ the graduated-rate amendment will make for a better income tax

By Eric Zorn

October 1, 2020 at 4:56 p.m.

Note: A referendum on the Nov. 3 ballot will ask Illinois voters if they want...

Model and author Chrissy Teigen and her husband, singer John Legend, just lost their son, Jack, after pregnancy complications.

Column: ‘Driving home from the hospital with no baby.’ Chrissy Teigen’s posts about losing her baby are heartbreaking and generous.

By Heidi Stevens

October 5, 2020 at 12:55 p.m.

"Driving home from the hospital with no baby. How can this be real." It was...

A neon Schlitz sign hangs on the exterior of Schubas Tavern, formerly a Schlitz Brewery, on Sept. 28, 2020, in Chicago.

Column: Let’s toast the architecture of Chicago’s beer buildings, even if this isn’t happy hour for some of them

By Blair Kamin

October 1, 2020 at 1:54 p.m.

Raise a glass to Chicago's architecturally alluring beer buildings. Their ornate brickwork, fanciful turrets and...

The now permanently closed Southport Lanes & Billiards on North Southport Avenue on Sept. 28, 2020, in Chicago. Originally built by the Joseph Schlitz Brewery, the tavern in Lakeview closed recently after nearly 100 years as a bar, bowling alley, billiard hall and brothel.

A bittersweet time for Chicago’s beer buildings

By Contributed Content

October 1, 2020 at 1:38 p.m.

Columnists