Columnists

Chicago Academy for the Arts head of school Jason Patera, left, and Randy Duncan, chair of the school's dance department, speak at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in 2020. (Courtesy of Jason Patera)

Heidi Stevens: Principal’s departure will tie a knot on the loving thread woven throughout Chicago school community

By Heidi Stevens

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

Jason Patera is moving to South Carolina to be with his family, leaving a legacy...

Many Chicago police officers post up on East Illinois Street outside the AMC River East 21 movie theater on April 18, 2025. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)

David Greising: The flaws in Chicago’s throw-everything-at-it approach to crime

By David Greising

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

The recent show of force in Streeterville might serve as a metaphor for the state...

A U.S. soldier patrols in Qamishli in northeast Syria on Jan. 9, 2025. (Delil Souleiman/Getty-AFP)

Daniel DePetris: US should finally depart from Syria

By Daniel DePetris

April 22, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Every major justification given to keep U.S. forces in Syria is now irrelevant.

Roger DuClos is seen with his wife, Linda, from left, and their daughters Jennifer DuClos Strombom and Wendy DuClos Davids on Roger's 79th birthday. (Wendy DuClos Davids)

Heidi Stevens: Memories of a dad who wasn’t mine, but shaped my world, as his family grieves his death

By Heidi Stevens

April 18, 2025 at 8:18 a.m.

Roger DuClos was my friend’s dad and my dad’s friend; loving, safe grown-ups shape a...

Vehicles drive in front of an anti-U.S. mural in downtown Tehran, Iran, on April 13, 2025. (Vahid Salemi/AP)

Daniel DePetris: Trump administration takes the first diplomatic step with Iran over nuclear program

By Daniel DePetris

April 15, 2025 at 9:52 a.m.

Washington and Tehran both have reasons for keeping the process over discussing Iran's nuclear program...

The National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall is seen on March 28, 2025, in Washington. Trump has called for reshaping the Smithsonian into a “symbol of inspiration and American greatness.” (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Clarence Page: Trump and Vance raise puzzling question at the Smithsonian. What’s ‘improper ideology’?

By Clarence Page

April 13, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

In his executive order, Trump called for reshaping the Smithsonian into a “symbol of inspiration...

Illinois public employees rally for reform of the Tier 2 pension level at the Illinois Capitol in Springfield on Nov. 13, 2024. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

David Greising: State action on pension reform is slow. That may prove auspicious in the end.

By David Greising

April 11, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

There are signs that some of the best ideas for pensions reform in Illinois might...

Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the Atomflot, a service base for nuclear-powered fleet, in Murmansk, Russia, on March 27, 2025. (Sergei Karpukhin/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo)

Daniel DePetris: Vladimir Putin obstructs President Donald Trump’s best-laid plans for Ukraine

By Daniel DePetris

April 8, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Vladimir Putin’s obstructionism has led Washington’s allies in Europe to call the entire diplomatic effort...

A cyclist rides past historic buildings 3633 and 3627 N. Sheffield Ave. on April 3, 2025. The building between them at 3631 has already been razed. The buildings are being demolished to make room for an apartment building. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Edward Keegan: Wrigley Field is losing some of its magic with demolished historic buildings

By Edward Keegan

April 6, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Three vintage three-flats represented Wrigley Field’s history and the architecture that has made Chicago’s neighborhoods...

Clarence Page: In Wisconsin, Elon Musk turned fame and wealth into votes but not victory

By Clarence Page

April 6, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Elon Musk's defeat in Wisconsin last Tuesday night was a new sign of energy on...

Containers sit at the Port of Rotterdam on April 3, 2025, in the Netherlands. The port is the largest seaport in Europe and a key transit point for trade with the U.S. (Pierre Crom/Getty)

Elizabeth Shackelford: President Donald Trump’s tariffs will cost us

By Elizabeth Shackelford

April 3, 2025 at 12:01 p.m.

We live in a world today very unlike that of the 19th century America that...

Sen. Cory Booker shattered a record for the longest speech in Senate history with a fiery protest against President Donald Trump's "unconstitutional" actions, beginning late on March 31, 2025, and going just over 25 hours. (Roberto Schmidt/Getty-AFP)

Heidi Stevens: For those of us hungry for hope, Sen. Cory Booker’s record-breaking speech offered a glimpse

By Heidi Stevens

April 3, 2025 at 9:53 a.m.

Segregationist Strom Thurmond's senate-speech record was broken by Booker, a man whose rights he fought...

A medical assistant packs pills of mifepristone and misoprostol that will be mailed to patients in 2023. At the time, the two-drug regimen accounted for more than half of the abortions in the United States. (Jackie Molloy/The New York Times)

Steve Chapman: Crackdown on abortion providers and seekers is reminiscent of the Fugitive Slave Act

By Steve Chapman

April 2, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The parallels between anti-abortion states cracking down on abortion seekers and providers and the slavery...