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...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth prepares to give a television interview outside the White House on March 21, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Clarence Page: Signalgate reveals Donald Trump’s backward-looking military view

By Clarence Page

March 30, 2025 at 9:05 p.m.

A hard-won Senate confirmation was not enough to keep the aroma of scandal away from...

FBI Director Kash Patel, from left, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe appear at a Senate Committee on Intelligence Hearing on March 25, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The hearing to examine worldwide threats came a day after Jeffrey Goldberg, the editor-in-chief for The Atlantic said he was sent information about plans for a forthcoming attack on Yemen on the Signal messaging app. (Andrew Harnik/Getty)

Heidi Stevens: If your rally cry is that all lives matter, show us — with your actions and your policies

By Heidi Stevens

March 28, 2025 at 7:38 a.m.

The Trump administration's policies and actions do not demonstrate that the party values the lives...

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center left, greets delegation officials as he arrives for a round table meeting at an EU Summit in Brussels on March 6, 2025. (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)

Daniel DePetris: Is Europe stepping up to the plate?

By Daniel DePetris

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

European policymakers are moving at a relatively fast pace to improve defense capabilities, but there...

President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 13, 2025. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Clarence Page: President Donald Trump loves free speech, as long as it’s his

By Clarence Page

March 24, 2025 at 8:28 a.m.

Donald Trump has left little doubt that he will continue to wage legal and oratorical...

European Council President Antonio Costa, left, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen greet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss continued support for Ukraine and European defense at European Union headquarters in Brussels on March 6, 2025. European Union leaders held emergency talks in Brussels as the Trump administration upends traditional alliances and retracts wartime backing of Ukraine. (Nicolas Tucat/Getty-AFP)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Who will pick up the global leadership America has abandoned?

By Elizabeth Shackelford

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

Whether the future is more democratic or authoritarian will likely hinge on whether Europe or...

Former Chicago Bulls player Dennis Rodman addresses the crowd on North Korea during the "Slam Dunk Diplomacy with Dennis Rodman" panel at the 2018 Politicon in Los Angeles, California on Oct. 20, 2018. (Mark Ralston/Getty-AFP)

Heidi Stevens: What a psychology professor’s grandmother — and Dennis Rodman — can teach us about regulating our emotions

By Heidi Stevens

March 26, 2025 at 2:40 p.m.

Psychology professor Ethan Kross has a powerful reframing of what so many of us may...

Houthi supporters chant slogans and hold pictures of Abdul Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthi movement, during an anti-U.S. and anti-Israel rally in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 17, 2025. (Osamah Abdulrahman/AP)

Daniel DePetris: President Donald Trump goes to war in Yemen

By Daniel DePetris

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

The Trump administration hasn’t taken the right lesson from past interventions in Yemen.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer declines to answer questions from reporters after a Senate Democratic luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 13, 2025. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

Clarence Page: Donald Trump’s labeling dilemma

By Clarence Page

March 17, 2025 at 8:23 a.m.

Instead of focusing on the budget and taxes, Donald Trump once again veered into questioning...

Gov. JB Pritzker, right, talks with Regional Transportation Authority Chair Kirk Dillard at a City Club of Chicago meeting May 17, 2024. (John J. Kim/baiduhai)

David Greising: What can be done to save mass transit in Chicago and the suburbs?

By David Greising

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

The all-out merger of the entire Chicago metro transit system may sound appealing, but it...

Thousands protest the Donald Trump administration's federal funding cuts during the Stand-Up for Science rally in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 2025. (Dominic Gwinn/Getty-AFP)

Heidi Stevens: Criticizing the White House is not hating America. Quite the opposite, in fact

By Heidi Stevens

March 14, 2025 at 9:11 a.m.

America has done so much good, and it has also done tremendous harm. Acknowledging both...

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