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...

An empty lot in the Lincoln Yards site, adjacent to the North Branch of the Chicago River in Chicago, is seen on May 29, 2025. (Audrey Richardson/baiduhai)

Edward Keegan: Chicago should turn Lincoln Yards development into a public park

By Edward Keegan

June 3, 2025 at 7:26 p.m.

Chicago's Lincoln Yards could bring neighborhoods together around a shared resource that would draw visitors...

People in a bazaar in the Old City of Damascus, Syria, on May 19, 2025. European Union foreign ministers on May 20 agreed to lift the remaining economic curbs on the war-torn country, amid concerns it could slip back into conflict. (Diego Ibarra Sanchez/The New York Times)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Sanctions relief is worth a shot for Syria’s chance at recovery

By Elizabeth Shackelford

May 30, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Syria remains at high risk. Sanctions relief doesn’t guarantee a stable path ahead, but without...

The Texas flag flies over the Texas Capitol in Austin, Texas. (Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News)

Heidi Stevens: Texas’ Ten Commandments mandate doesn’t square with attempts to keep ‘individual beliefs’ out of classrooms

By Heidi Stevens

May 30, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The movement to keep LGBT and CRT and DEI out of classrooms is about creating...

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hold a meeting in Tokyo on March 30, 2025. The United States will ensure "robust, ready and credible deterrence" across the Taiwan Strait, Hegseth said on March 30, calling China "aggressive and coercive." (Stanislav Kogiku/Getty-AFP)

Daniel DePetris: Asia is getting shortchanged as the US keeps its focus elsewhere

By Daniel DePetris

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

How committed is President Donald Trump to deterring conflict in Asia? The White House’s actions haven’t...

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, left, and President Donald Trump exchange words during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on May 21, 2025, in Washington. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty)

Clarence Page: President Donald Trump’s grudge against South Africa is based on racist fiction

By Clarence Page

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

Our president is solidifying his image as a global leader of white identity politics.

Jan Eliasson, then-deputy secretary general of the United Nations, talks at a news conference ahead of the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul on May 22, 2016. (Lefteris Pitarakis/AP)

John T. Shaw: A statesman’s formula — statecraft, stagecraft and soulcraft

By John T. Shaw

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

Veteran statesman Jan Eliasson shows that competent governance is the best antidote to angry populism.

A CTA train passes overhead along Wells Street as pedestrians make their way on Wacker Drive in downtown Chicago on May 21, 2025. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

David Greising: With state lawmakers in the final stretch, transit and pension proposals involve high stakes

By David Greising

May 23, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Will Springfield act on transit funding or Tier 2 pensions before the Illinois General Assembly...

Displaced Palestinians gather to collect portions of cooked food at a charity distribution in Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip on May 19, 2025. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on May 19 that Israel will "take control" of the whole of Gaza, as the military pressed a newly intensified campaign in the war-ravaged territory. (Bashar Taleb/AFP-Getty)

Daniel DePetris: Donald Trump is getting a reality check on his peace plans for Gaza and Ukraine

By Daniel DePetris

May 20, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

In Ukraine and Gaza, host to two of the most intractable wars in the world,...

Afrikaner refugees from South Africa arrive May 12, 2025, at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

Clarence Page: Donald Trump embraces South Africans — the white ones

By Clarence Page

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

In the coming week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is scheduled to meet Trump at...

Children's books Katy Coffey and Brian Werle received as gifts from their guests are displayed at a table at their April wedding. (Katy Coffey)

Heidi Stevens: Instead of a wedding registry, they asked for children’s books. And then gave them all away.

By Heidi Stevens

May 16, 2025 at 7:02 a.m.

I love this little slice of kindness in a world that could use some right...

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