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...

Street art depicts former Justice Department employee Sean Charles Dunn on a wall in the Union Market District neighborhood Aug. 16, 2025, in Washington. (Yong Kim/Philadelphia Inquirer)

Clarence Page: When federal authorities disrupt the peace in the name of preserving it

By Clarence Page

November 9, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

President Donald Trump’s policies to tighten immigration enforcement appear to have done more to create...

People wait for a Red Line CTA train at the Sheridan Red Line station in Uptown on Aug. 21, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

David Greising: Gov. JB Pritzker pushed back on the transit bill. He needs to do that with pensions.

By David Greising

November 7, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Illinois must keep an eye on the way Gov. JB Pritzker handles pension reform, which...

President Ronald Reagan signs legislation implementing the U.S.-Canada free trade agreement during a ceremony at the White House on Sept. 28, 1988. (Scott Stewart/AP)

Steve Chapman: No, Ronald Reagan did not love tariffs

By Steve Chapman

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

Ronald Reagan could not have differed more from Trump on international trade or relations with...

The USS Gravely, a Navy destroyer, departs the Port of Spain on Oct. 30, 2025. The U.S. warship arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Oct. 26, 2025, for joint exercises near the coast of Venezuela, as Washington ratcheted up pressure on drug traffickers and Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. (Martin Bernetti/Getty-AFP)

Daniel DePetris: Is Donald Trump’s military campaign against drug traffickers in Venezuela legal?

By Daniel DePetris

November 4, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The legal justification for the military campaign off the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia is...

Mayor Richard J. Daley is flanked by Mr. and Mrs. Milton Lee Olive Jr., parents of the medal of honor winner, at ceremonies on June 19, 1966, unveiling the monument to the memory of Pfc. Milton Lee Olive III in a park now known as Olive Park. The monument is sculpted in bronze. (William Vendetta/baiduhai)

Clarence Page: Pete Hegseth’s war on ‘woke’ is an assault on American history

By Clarence Page

November 2, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Now, more than ever, it is important to remember people like soldier Milton Olive III...

The installation Accessing Nostalgia by Adaptive Operations is seen outside the 136-year-old Crump Theatre in Columbus, Indiana. The installation can be viewed at Exhibit Columbus through Nov. 30, 2025. (Hadley Fruits for Landmark Columbus Foundation)

Edward Keegan: Columbus, Indiana’s architecture festival embraces the spirit of Chicago improv with ‘Yes And’

By Edward Keegan

November 2, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Improv isn’t the most obvious model for architecture, but good design is always about negotiating...

President Paul Biya casts his ballot at the Government Bilingual primary school Bastos in Yaounde, Cameroon, on Oct. 12, 2025 (Angel Ngwe/AP)

Elizabeth Shackelford: The intoxication of power and its consequences on democracy around the world

By Elizabeth Shackelford

October 31, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Elderly leaders in Africa and around the world are holding on to power. Democratic states...

The plaque that sits at the base of the tree in River Forest, Illinois, planted in honor of Hunter Coe, who died by suicide at age 24. (Kristen Coe/TNS)

Heidi Stevens: After losing their son to suicide, they created a fund to buoy their community — and their spirits

By Heidi Stevens

November 14, 2025 at 9:15 a.m.

Hunter Coe's family has spent the last decade making sense and meaning of his life...

President Donald Trump, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un take a walk after their first meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Feb. 28, 2019. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Daniel DePetris: President Donald Trump wants to meet with Kim Jong Un again. But what about Kim?

By Daniel DePetris

October 28, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The geopolitical situation has changed for North Korea in the years since Donald Trump and...

A statue of Winston Churchill is silhouetted against the Houses of Parliament and the early morning sky in London on June 24, 2016. (Matt Dunham/AP)

John T. Shaw: Johns Hopkins scholar shows that knowing history is invaluable to statesmanship

By John T. Shaw

October 27, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

A Johns Hopkins scholar believes a skillful understanding of history can translate into practical tools...

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