Columns

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva addresses supporters during a victory rally after winning a fourth term in the presidential runoff in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Oct. 25, 2026. (Natacha Pisarenko/AP)

Daniel DePetris: What Donald Trump should do now that his Brazilian ally has been defeated

By Daniel DePetris

November 3, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Flávio Bolsonaro's own self-imposed exile comes at a tricky time for relations between the United...

Former President Barack Obama speaks Oct. 28, 2026, in Morrow, Georgia, where he repeated the Cheesecake Factory Oval Office comparison. (Brynn Anderson/AP)

Clarence Page: Barack Obama’s Cheesecake Factory joke explains the state of MAGA

By Clarence Page

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

The Oval Office belongs to all of us, which is one reason why Barack Obama’s...

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...

An artist's rendering shows the planned exterior view of the Chicago Fire stadium in The 78. (Chicago Fire FC and Gensler)

Edward Keegan: Chicago Fire stadium plans cry out for a bit of quirkiness

By Edward Keegan

June 25, 2025 at 11:51 a.m.

The Chicago Fire stadium needs to be distinctive and genuinely grounded in Chicago’s unique architectural...

Iranian protesters hold up posters showing the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, and the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini in a protest following the U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear sites June 22, 2025, in Tehran. (Vahid Salemi/AP)

Daniel DePetris: Is there a diplomatic off-ramp available for the US and Iran?

By Daniel DePetris

June 23, 2025 at 6:14 p.m.

President Donald Trump should continue diplomacy with Iran if only because the other option —...

President Donald Trump walks out of the Oval Office before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on June 20, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty)

Clarence Page: Did you miss a national holiday, Mr. President?

By Clarence Page

June 20, 2025 at 6:56 p.m.

Juneteenth came and went Thursday, but curiously something seemed to be missing from the annual...

A Pace bus leaves the Howard CTA station in Rogers Park on May 22, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/baiduhai)

David Greising: Where does transit funding and oversight stand in Chicago? Should we panic?

By David Greising

June 20, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

With no revenue resolution yet in sight, the service agencies — the CTA, Metra and...

A person holds Progress Pride Flags during the Los Angeles LGBT Center's "Drag March LA: The March on Santa Monica Boulevard" in West Hollywood, California, on April 9, 2023. (Allison Dinner/Getty-AFP)

Heidi Stevens: Shutting down hotline services for LGBTQ+ youth is malice by Trump administration

By Heidi Stevens

June 20, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

It’s unconscionable that the physical, mental and emotional health of young people is on the...

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arrives to vote for the parliamentary runoff elections in Tehran, Iran, on May 10, 2024. (Vahid Salemi/AP)

Daniel DePetris: Iranian supreme leader’s options are limited in war with Israel

By Daniel DePetris

June 16, 2025 at 3:16 p.m.

If Iran's attacks are designed to push Israel into suspending its military campaign, then they’ve...

U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., is pushed out of the room as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem holds a news conference regarding the recent protests in Los Angeles on June 12, 2025. (Etienne Laurent/AP)

Clarence Page: When the president’s peacemaking efforts invite more chaos

By Clarence Page

June 15, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

We need to give peace a chance. But peace is not what Donald Trump and...

Heather Jackson looks at a sculpture featured in the exhibition “Catalyst: Im/migration and Self-taught Art in Chicago” at the Intuit Art Museum (IAM) on May 23, 2025, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/baiduhai)

Edward Keegan: Intuit Art Museum’s newly renovated space reflects the institution and West Town neighborhood

By Edward Keegan

June 15, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

Completely rethinking their old home was exactly the right move — for the Intuit Art...

Ugandan activist, lawyer and journalist Agather Atuhaire displays bruises and scars on her arms after her release from detention by Tanzanian authorities, outside a hospital in Kampala, Uganda, on May 23, 2025. (Getty-AFP)

Elizabeth Shackelford: East African governments turn up repression as the United States turns away

By Elizabeth Shackelford

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

Once, the U.S. government used its influence to prevent human rights abuses overseas. Now, Washington...

Police face off with immigrant rights protesters in the Loop on June 10, 2025, in Chicago. (Scott Olson/Getty Images North America/TNS)

Heidi Stevens: As demonstrations over immigration policy erupt, we can’t forget the human hearts at the center

By Heidi Stevens

June 15, 2025 at 1:59 p.m.

It’s easy and convenient to focus on what divides us. But it’s more honest to...

Columnists