Columns

Mayor Brandon Johnson delivers his budget address Oct. 21, 2026, at Chicago City Hall. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

David Greising: The fight over Chicago’s budget is healthy. Now the city needs a charter.

By David Greising

October 23, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

If an independent City Council becomes an expected feature of the budget process, we really...

Participants run along North Sheridan Road in Lakeview on Oct. 11, 2026, during the Chicago Marathon. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

Heidi Stevens: 5 final lessons from the Chicago Marathon, now that it’s in the rearview mirror

By Heidi Stevens

October 23, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

When Heidi Stevens committed to running the Chicago Marathon this year, she also committed to...

President Donald Trump, right, meets with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine, left, for bilateral talks at Beştepe Presidential Compound during the NATO Summit on July 8, 2026, in Ankara, Turkey. (Win McNamee/Getty)

Daniel DePetris: Donald Trump’s fight with Volodymyr Zelenskyy reveals a deeper frustration

By Daniel DePetris

October 20, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The likely driver for the latest fight over Ukraine is that the war Donald Trump...

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 school board president candidates Jessica Biggs, from left, Hilario Dominguez and Victor Henderson participate in a forum at the Copernicus Center in Chicago on Sept. 29, 2026. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

Laura Washington: Brutal school board elections are the name of the Chicago game

By Laura Washington

October 7, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

This Chicago school board will decide how much taxes we will all pay and how...

Supporters of presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro for the Partido Liberal react during general election day on October 4, 2026, in Brasilia, Brazil. According to official results, Bolsonaro has 47.06% of the votes, and incumbent president of Brazil and presidential candidate Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva has 45.13%, with 99% of the voting counted. Bolsonaro and Lula will face off in a runoff on Oct. 25, 2026, after neither reached 50% of the votes to be elected president. (Ton Molina/Getty)

Daniel DePetris: Brazil’s elections appear to be another win for Donald Trump

By Daniel DePetris

October 6, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Over the last year and a half, right-wing candidates have won seven presidential elections in...

Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb and head of the National Design Studio, speaks during the America.gov launch event on Sept. 29, 2026, in Washington. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty)

Clarence Page: Donald Trump’s ‘truth’ betrayed by White House chatbot

By Clarence Page

October 5, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

President Donald Trump is likely not pleased to find out he unleashed a fact-checker against...

Finnish President Alexander Stubb is applauded while speaking during the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters on Sept. 22, 2026, in New York. (Seth Wenig/AP)

John T. Shaw: Finland’s president offers a compelling plan for a new world order

By John T. Shaw

October 4, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Finland's president believes the system created after World War II must be rebuilt and rebalanced...

A wall running along Clark Street, interspersed with resident-only locked gates, separates the Dearborn Park subdivision from foot traffic along Clark Street on Oct. 1, 2026, near the South Loop. From 15th Street, north on Clark and then east on Roosevelt Road, Dearborn Park goes half a mile without a public pedestrian entrance. (Arthur Maiorella/baiduhai)

Edward Keegan: It’s time to tear down Dearborn Park’s walls in the South Loop

By Edward Keegan

October 4, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The architecture throughout Dearborn Park is very much a product of its time. And it...

Mike Bieritz and Jenn Bieritz Niles at the supportive living facility where he moved in 2017. Mike recently died at age 59 from aspiration pneumonia and his sisters had his corneas donated. (Jenn Bieritz Nilles/TNS)

Heidi Stevens: A joyful life, a too-early death and the gift of sight for two people who lost theirs

By Heidi Stevens

October 2, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Heidis Stevens has long said that before she fell in love with journalism, she fell...

President Donald Trump stands next to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg as Dario Amodei speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington on Sept. 29, 2026, after meeting with top executives of AI firms. (Alex Brandon/AP)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Return of ‘might makes right’ imperils the UN’s mission as AI threatens our existence

By Elizabeth Shackelford

October 2, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

If ever a technology demanded international cooperation and governance, to manage the risks and maximize...

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