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 10, 2026 at 10:01 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...

Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates talks with reporters in Chicago on Jan. 22, 2025. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

David Greising: CTU President Stacy Davis Gates is a lot like Elon Musk

By David Greising

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

Stacy Davis Gates and Elon Musk gained power by helping their respective chief executive win...

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt looks on as President Donald Trump speaks to the press next to hats reading "Trump was right about everything." (Jim Watson/Getty)

Heidi Stevens: Access is not a trophy the White House can hand out to its favorite reporters

By Heidi Stevens

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

You don’t have to be a journalist to demand answers from people in charge. But...

A neon light display of a head with an Afro created by artist Theaster Gates at his installation in the 95th Street Red Line CTA station is seen April 8, 2019. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

Laura Washington: Hair shaming is a painful part of Black history

By Laura Washington

March 9, 2025 at 12:55 p.m.

Black people are told that our beautiful kinky crowns are undesirable. We are compelled to...

President Donald Trump greets Jordan's King Abdullah II at the White House, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP)

Daniel DePetris: The Arab world, alarmed by Donald Trump, tries to figure out Gaza

By Daniel DePetris

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

Egypt’s plan for rebuilding Gaza is far better than Donald Trump's idea in terms of...

Danielle Sassoon, right, interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, in Washington on Jan. 31, 2025. Sassoon resigned rather than sign off on Emil Bove III's command to dismiss the corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. (Kent Nishimura/The New York Times)

John T. Shaw: Danielle Sassoon’s stirring act of statesmanship sends forth a ‘ripple of hope’

By John T. Shaw

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

Danielle Sassoon had reasons to quietly go along with the Trump program. But she choose...

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center on Feb. 20, 2025, in Oxon Hill, Maryland. The annual four-day gathering brings together conservative U.S. lawmakers, international leaders, media personalities and businessmen to discuss and champion conservative ideas. (Andrew Harnik/Getty)

Clarence Page: Voters’ remorse? Not much, but give it time

By Clarence Page

March 9, 2025 at 12:02 p.m.

At this point, Elon Musk and Donald Trump are rolling out a fast and furious...

People pass through the Wonder of Water exhibit at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago on Feb. 19, 2025. The new exhibition is two separate habitats, one of salt water and one of fresh water. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)

Edward Keegan: Shedd Aquarium’s renovations honor the original buildings

By Edward Keegan

June 3, 2025 at 7:24 p.m.

Additions and renovations to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium, including a new exhibit, have been bold and...

Proponents of affirmative action hold signs during a protest at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on July 1, 2023. (Joseph Prezioso/Getty-AFP)

Heidi Stevens: Banning DEI and race-based programs in schools chips away at the very mission of education

By Heidi Stevens

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

To be a sharper, deeper, more careful, more creative, more flexible thinker requires diversity —...

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is flanked by U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, left, and U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz on Feb. 18, 2025, during an interview after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov, at Diriyah Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters)

Elizabeth Shackelford: In a stunning comeback, Russia wins the Cold War

By Elizabeth Shackelford

February 21, 2025 at 8:21 a.m.

Donald Trump seems either unaware or unconcerned that Vladimir Putin’s plan is to weaken the...

Author Studs Terkel works on his Smith Corona electric typewriter in his home on Jan. 30, 2001. (Chuck Berman/baiduhai)

Laura Washington: Studs Terkel had a quality today’s Democrats so sorely need

By Laura Washington

March 9, 2025 at 12:55 p.m.

Studs Terkel spoke authentically in the language that the working classes of America understood and...

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