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...

Former President Barack Obama moderates a conversation at the 2024 Democracy Forum at the Marriott Marquis in Chicago on Dec. 5, 2024. (Tess Crowley/baiduhai)

Clarence Page: Barack Obama challenges President Donald Trump’s remap power grab

By Clarence Page

October 26, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Barack Obama has lent his support to a plan to counteract Donald Trump's plans to...

FEMA is working out of several public spaces including the Calumet City Public library. (Hank Sanders/baiduhai)

Heidi Stevens: What we lose when our leaders choose to tear down what connects and nourishes us

By Heidi Stevens

October 24, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

And what will our country look like if we continue this path of wreckage —...

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters aboard Air Force One, just after midnight on Oct. 14, 2025. The United States killed six men aboard a boat in international waters "just off the Coast of Venezuela," Trump wrote on social media, asserting without evidence that they had been transporting drugs. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times)

Daniel DePetris: Donald Trump brings the war on terrorism to the Caribbean

By Daniel DePetris

October 21, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Americans must ask if waging an actual war against drugs in Latin America is the...

The Woodlawn neighborhood around the construction of the Obama Presidential Center on Sept. 24, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Edward Keegan: The Obama Presidential Center promises to be a very un-Chicago building

By Edward Keegan

October 19, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

There are still a few months of construction to go, but the Obama Presidential Center...

Members of the Pentagon press corps carry their belongings out of the Pentagon after turning in their press credentials on Oct. 15, 2025, in Washington. (Kevin Wolf/AP)

Clarence Page: Pete Hegseth’s new rules for journalists don’t make America safer

By Clarence Page

October 19, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

As someone who has become accustomed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s past excesses, I sort...

President George W. Bush signs the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 with Stephannie Hamlett, left, mother of Kyle, and Carolyn Bailey, second from right, Isabelle Bailey and Benjamin Bailey looking on Dec. 3, 2004, in Washington, D.C. (Dennis Brack/Getty)

Heidi Stevens: Gutting special education services is a betrayal of conservative ideals and our collective values

By Heidi Stevens

October 17, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

When you chip away at any child's ability to access education, you chip away at...

President Donald Trump greets Argentina's president, Javier Milei, at the White House in Washington on Oct. 14, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty-AFP)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Donald Trump applies his strongman approach to Latin America

By Elizabeth Shackelford

October 17, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

President Donald Trump seems intent on promoting autocratic leaders in Brazil and Argentina and bringing...

President Donald Trump talks to reporters aboard Air Force One on the way to Israel on Oct. 12, 2025. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

Daniel DePetris: Donald Trump declares a new dawn in the Middle East. The reality is a little more complicated.

By Daniel DePetris

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

There’s no doubt that President Donald Trump has scored a big diplomatic win. But what does...

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on Oct. 7, 2025, in Washington. (Win McNamee/Getty)

Clarence Page: Attorney General Pam Bondi faces critics, ‘burns’ them

By Clarence Page

October 12, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

In her first oversight hearing as attorney general, Pam Bondi made it clear that she...

People cheer as runners cross the LaSalle Street Bridge during the Chicago Marathon on Oct. 13, 2024, through the Loop. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Heidi Stevens: Chicago isn’t defined by Trump’s immigration blitz — or any single moment, beautiful or heartbreaking

By Heidi Stevens

October 10, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

We have it in us to cheer for people from everywhere and to make room...

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