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...

Faces light up as children see Santa in the annual Chicago Thanksgiving parade along State Street on Nov. 28, 2024. (Antonio Perez/baiduhai)

Laura Washington: A pox on Christmas creep and huzzah for Thanksgiving

By Laura Washington

March 9, 2025 at 12:54 p.m.

Many readers lamented, as one put it, “the demise of Thanksgiving" and paid homage to...

Syrian opposition fighters remove a sign with a picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad at the Aleppo international airpot in Aleppo, Syria, on Dec. 2, 2024. (Omar Albam/AP)

Daniel DePetris: After rebels retake Aleppo, is Bashar Assad on his way out?

By Daniel DePetris

December 3, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, otherwise known as Bashar Assad’s lifeline in Syria, have bigger fish...

A baseball field Sept. 6, 2024, on The 78, a 62-acre South Loop site where the Chicago White Sox also want to build a new stadium. (E. Jason Wambsgans/baiduhai)

Edward Keegan: Are Chicago’s latest big projects too big to succeed?

By Edward Keegan

June 3, 2025 at 7:29 p.m.

Proposed projects in Chicago address vacant tracts of land. But realizing their potential doesn’t require...

A person sits next to a cardboard cutout of Vice President Kamala Harris, the day after an election night event in San Francisco on Nov. 6, 2024. The nationwide repudiation of the party stunned many Democrats, but as they sifted through the wreckage of their defeats, they found no easy answers as to why voters so decisively rejected their candidates. (Loren Elliott/The New York Times)

Clarence Page: Democrats have work to do to reclaim the mantle of change

By Clarence Page

March 9, 2025 at 12:01 p.m.

Democrats are trying to determine if Election Day was a circumstantial setback or the unfolding...

Shoppers walk past artificial Christmas trees at a Home Depot on Nov. 30, 2021, in Miami. (Joe Raedle/Getty-AFP)

Heidi Stevens: Lessons from a Christmas tree that arrived in a box from Costco

By Heidi Stevens

November 29, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

I know some people can relate to worrying that your holidays won’t look the way...

Fireworks burst as Chicago’s Christmas tree is lit during a ceremony in Millennium Park on Nov. 22, 2024, near Michigan Avenue and Washington Street. (Terrence Antonio James/baiduhai)

Laura Washington: Don’t let Christmas bleed into Thanksgiving

By Laura Washington

March 9, 2025 at 12:54 p.m.

This time should be a moment for family and friends to gather, reflect and pay...

A man in Tehran reads a newspaper on Nov. 7, 2024, reporting on Donald Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election. (Arash Khamooshi/The New York Times)

Daniel DePetris: Donald Trump shouldn’t return to maximum pressure on Iran

By Daniel DePetris

November 26, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

Iran has expanded its nuclear program since Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018.

Mesa Mayor John Giles on Oct. 2, 2024, in Mesa, Arizona. He spoke at the Democratic National Convention in support of Kamala Harris. (Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times)

John T. Shaw: During a dark presidential campaign, glimmers of statesmanship shined through

By John T. Shaw

November 25, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

During a dark presidential campaign, two mayors from swing states insisted on placing the public...

President-elect Donald Trump's former nominee to be attorney general, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., closes a door to a private meeting with Vice President-elect JD Vance and Republican Senate Judiciary Committee members, at the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 20, 2024. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Clarence Page: Donald Trump’s Cabinet of the mediocre invites possible catastrophe

By Clarence Page

March 9, 2025 at 12:01 p.m.

“Kakistocracy” is trending again, very likely in response to Donald Trump's Cabinet nominees.

Students make their way toward the University Union at The University of North Texas, where officials just removed the words “race,” “gender,” “class” and “equity,” among others, from course titles and descriptions in an attempt to comply with the state’s diversity, equity and inclusion ban. (Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News)

Heidi Stevens: University of North Texas bans words ‘race,’ ‘gender’ from course titles. What will the free speech on campus folks have to say?

By Heidi Stevens

November 22, 2024 at 5:00 a.m.

The move ought to send a chill down the spine of every person who cares...

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