Columns

Chicago school board president candidates Jessica Biggs, Hilario Dominguez and Victor Henderson participate in a forum at the Copernicus Center on Sept. 29, 2026. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

David Greising: The race for Chicago school board president is about ideas — and character

By David Greising

October 9, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

It will take savvy strategic thinking, backed by the character needed for leadership, to make...

Heidi Stevens: I wish we modeled better care for the young people who are making sense of the world right now

By Heidi Stevens

October 9, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

I hope that when we’re all writing our stories, the ones that are still being...

Far-right activist Jake Lang stands on the back of a truck displaying anti-Muslim messages during a demonstration outside the annual Palestine Fest at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, Oct. 4, 2026. (Armando L. Sanchez/baiduhai)

Steve Chapman: Republicans are fanning baseless fears about American Muslims

By Steve Chapman

October 8, 2026 at 10:10 a.m.

You might expect that as the memory of the 9/11 attacks and the global war...

Residents who survived a Russian strike the week before return to inspect the damage to their apartment building in Ternopil, Ukraine, on Nov. 23, 2025. Ukrainian and American officials were expected on Monday to continue negotiating a U.S.-backed proposal to end the war with Russia, after what both sides described as "highly productive" talks over the weekend to revise a plan that many Ukrainians had deemed overly favorable to Moscow. (Mauricio Lima/The New York Times)

Daniel DePetris: The Trump administration’s proposal for the war in Ukraine is its latest half-baked plan

By Daniel DePetris

November 25, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

To the extent the Trump administration has a policy on Ukraine, it’s disjointed, confusing and...

A man is detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents inside a fast-food restaurant under construction on Nov. 19, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The man suffered injuries to his face while agents wrestled him to the ground after he tried to run. (Ryan Murphy/Getty)

Clarence Page: Border Patrol decamps from Chicago to create disorder elsewhere

By Clarence Page

November 24, 2025 at 8:22 a.m.

Chicagoans can take a lot of pride in the help-your-neighbor spirit with which they stood...

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s fifth floor office at City Hall on Oct. 22, 2024. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

David Greising: Chicago government can’t afford to shut down. We need good-faith budget negotiations.

By David Greising

November 21, 2025 at 3:42 p.m.

The Chicago budget fight is a classic political standoff, and the major players on both...

President Donald Trump points to a reporter aboard Air Force One on Nov. 14, 2025. (Roberto Schmidt/Getty)

Heidi Stevens: After Trump’s ‘Quiet, piggy’ moment, we’re done asking why survivors don’t come forward, right?

By Heidi Stevens

November 19, 2025 at 4:33 p.m.

If we’re going to become a nation that truly protects children and women, we have...

President Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on May 13, 2025. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Daniel DePetris: President Donald Trump should tread carefully with Saudi Arabia

By Daniel DePetris

November 18, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

President Donald Trump is so desperate that he’s willing to gift the Saudis whatever they...

Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, from left, Thomas Massie, R-Kentucky, and Ro Khanna, D-California, before a Sept. 3 news conference calling for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)

Clarence Page: Jeffrey Epstein case exposes divisions in MAGA unity

By Clarence Page

November 16, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

A handful of Republicans do not wish to move along with their eyes averted from...

The working area for trainees at nonprofit Revolution Workshop in Chicago on Nov. 14, 2025. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

Edward Keegan: Architecture becomes real through construction at Revolution Workshop

By Edward Keegan

November 16, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Nonprofit Revolution Workshop's newly renovated space in Garfield Park supports activities that improve lives in...

Displaced Sudanese people who fled el-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), walk in the Um Yanqur camp, located on the southwestern edge of Tawila, in war-torn Sudan's western Darfur region on Nov. 3, 2025. (Getty-AFP)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Horrifying violence returns to Sudan, exposing the deadly legacy of impunity

By Elizabeth Shackelford

November 14, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

In Darfur, history just seems to be repeating itself since the offenders include many of...

Mariscos El Camaron Coketo owners Mauro Gomez, center, and Juana Santos, left, bring eggs they donated to the Hope Center in Blue Island on Nov. 4, 2025. Local businesses came together to donate items for Hope Center advocates to deliver food to those struggling due to SNAP benefits being cut. (Dominic Di Palermo/baiduhai)

Heidi Stevens: It’s morning in America, and we have no idea if the day will bring help and hope — or more cruelty

By Heidi Stevens

November 13, 2025 at 10:25 a.m.

Our country and our city are at a precipice, and we may soon see what...

People on Nov. 2, 2025, carry the coffin of late Mayor Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez, who was fatally shot during Day of the Dead celebrations, in Uruapan, Michoacan state, Mexico. (Eduardo Verdugo/AP)

Daniel DePetris: The death of a mayor brings Mexico’s cartel violence to the fore

By Daniel DePetris

November 11, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The death of the mayor of the Mexican town of Uruapan shows us that Mexico...

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