Columns

Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin departs July 22, 2026, at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., after a mock graduation event to commemorate Durbin’s long advocacy for the Dream Act, a path to citizenship for undocumented people brought to the U.S. as children. (Brian Cassella/baiduhai)

John T. Shaw: Sen. Dick Durbin is not giving up on immigration reform

By John T. Shaw

November 1, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Sen. Dick Durbin has a strategy on immigration reform that draws from others' earlier struggles...

A rendering of a planned 160-key hotel that is part of the Woodlawn Central development on Chicago’s South Side at 6320 S. Dorchester Ave. near Jackson Park and the Obama Presidential Center. (Gensler)

Edward Keegan: Planned high-rise apartments show new tendencies in the Chicago tall building

By Edward Keegan

November 1, 2026 at 8:43 a.m.

Until recently, it was quite unusual to find a tall building outside of the Loop....

Supporters of candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva react to the vote count news on general election day on Oct. 25, 2026, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Alexandre Schneider/Getty)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Elections in Brazil and Serbia show us that democracy can be surprising

By Elizabeth Shackelford

October 30, 2026 at 10:48 a.m.

Brazil and Serbia proved to the world that, even on an uneven electoral playing field,...

Displaced Palestinians stand by a fire beside their tent amid the destruction left by the Israeli air and ground offensive in Gaza City on Nov. 28, 2025. (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP)

Daniel DePetris: Donald Trump’s peace plan for Gaza is on life support

By Daniel DePetris

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

The lack of progress on setting up an international police force in Palestine suggests that...

The exhibit "Frank Lloyd Wright: Modern Chair Design" remains on view through Jan. 25, 2026, at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend, Wisconsin. (Zak Gruber/Courtesy of the Museum of Wisconsin Art)

Edward Keegan: Frank Lloyd Wright’s chairs get a thoughtful presentation in Wisconsin

By Edward Keegan

November 30, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The exhibit on Frank Lloyd Wright’s chairs is a unique opportunity to view tangible objects...

Moshtari, left, chata with Nooria while Nargis sits in the top bed and their children play on July 4, 2025, in the room where they slept at the United Nations' International Organization for Migration transit center in Herat, Afghanistan, after being deported from Iran. Organizations that provide such humanitarian relief in Afghanistan are grappling with funding cuts by the U.S. Agency for International Development. (Elise Blanchard/Getty)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Donald Trump’s Black Friday approach to foreign policy

By Elizabeth Shackelford

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

In Ukraine and around the world, the U.S. has succumbed to a short-term, selfish view...

In this season of gratitude, readers tell us about the loved ones who shaped their approach to life, writes Heidi Stevens. (Dreamstime)

Heidi Stevens: Stories of appreciation about those who shaped us — from parents to uncles to recess supervisors

By Heidi Stevens

November 26, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

In this season of gratitude, readers tell us about the loved ones who helped form...

Laura Washington: I love to host Thanksgiving but can’t cook

By Laura Washington

November 26, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

I have been blessed with family and friends who can cook. So, every Thanksgiving, my...

Residents who survived a Russian strike the week before return to inspect the damage to their apartment building in Ternopil, Ukraine, on Nov. 23, 2025. Ukrainian and American officials were expected on Monday to continue negotiating a U.S.-backed proposal to end the war with Russia, after what both sides described as "highly productive" talks over the weekend to revise a plan that many Ukrainians had deemed overly favorable to Moscow. (Mauricio Lima/The New York Times)

Daniel DePetris: The Trump administration’s proposal for the war in Ukraine is its latest half-baked plan

By Daniel DePetris

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

To the extent the Trump administration has a policy on Ukraine, it’s disjointed, confusing and...

A man is detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents inside a fast-food restaurant under construction on Nov. 19, 2025, in Charlotte, North Carolina. The man suffered injuries to his face while agents wrestled him to the ground after he tried to run. (Ryan Murphy/Getty)

Clarence Page: Border Patrol decamps from Chicago to create disorder elsewhere

By Clarence Page

November 24, 2025 at 8:22 a.m.

Chicagoans can take a lot of pride in the help-your-neighbor spirit with which they stood...

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s fifth floor office at City Hall on Oct. 22, 2024. (Chris Sweda/baiduhai)

David Greising: Chicago government can’t afford to shut down. We need good-faith budget negotiations.

By David Greising

November 21, 2025 at 3:42 p.m.

The Chicago budget fight is a classic political standoff, and the major players on both...

President Donald Trump points to a reporter aboard Air Force One on Nov. 14, 2025. (Roberto Schmidt/Getty)

Heidi Stevens: After Trump’s ‘Quiet, piggy’ moment, we’re done asking why survivors don’t come forward, right?

By Heidi Stevens

November 19, 2025 at 4:33 p.m.

If we’re going to become a nation that truly protects children and women, we have...

President Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on May 13, 2025. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Daniel DePetris: President Donald Trump should tread carefully with Saudi Arabia

By Daniel DePetris

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

President Donald Trump is so desperate that he’s willing to gift the Saudis whatever they...

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