Edwin C. Yohnka

Attendees gather for a Day of the Dead altar building event for Silverio Villegas González on Nov. 1, 2025, near where he was shot in Franklin Park. Villegas González was shot and killed by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement on Sept. 12, 2025. (Dominic Di Palermo/Chicago Tribune)

Edwin C. Yohnka: Here’s how we hold federal agents accountable for their actions

May 12, 2026 at 8:30 a.m.

The Bivens Act would restore the people’s right to get meaningful relief in court when federal agents violate people’s constitutional rights.

A large wall mural showing the signing of the Declaration of Independence is seen over visitors at the National Archives on Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (John McDonnell/AP)

Edwin C. Yohnka: For America’s 250th, Donald Trump wants a national spectacle over local remembrance

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

Donald Trump's hopes for America's 250th mimic Richard Nixon's own for the bicentennial.

Federal agents hold back protesters while removing detainees on June 4, 2025, from an office run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the South Loop. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Edwin C. Yohnka: ICE officers should not be allowed to wear masks

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

The masks send a signal to ICE officers and the public that they are not accountable for their actions — even illegal ones.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order at the White House on Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington that bars transgender female athletes from competing in sporting events. (Alex Brandon/AP)

ACLU officials: Why do trans children in sports warrant an executive order from Donald Trump?

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

Donald Trump is directing the power of government to attack a handful of young trans people.

Taunting transgender children is off limits

May 11, 2019 at 8:17 a.m.

In three decades of working on public policy, there were a few rules that every thoughtful person in this work followed. On top of that list was the principle that...

Using stingray devices, police can zero in on the location of a particular cellphone and identify the serial numbers of all phones in the area.

It’s time to restrict police cellphone (listening) privileges

May 11, 2019 at 8:02 a.m.

Imagine this: A family with young children decides to spend the day visiting a Chicago-area museum, shopping on the Magnificent Mile or hitting some of the historic Lincoln sites in...

Getting it right on police body cameras

May 11, 2019 at 6:49 a.m.

As police departments nationwide, including the Chicago Police Department, move swiftly to adopt body cameras to record interactions between officers and civilians, we should pause. It would be unwise to...

Collection of DNA in crimes must have limits

August 22, 2021 at 9:11 p.m.

In "Fighting crime with DNA" (Commentary, Oct. 9), columnist Steve Chapman embraces a current social phenomenon--dubbed the "CSI Effect"--in his endorsement of DNA collection for all people arrested in the...

O’Hare search

August 20, 2021 at 4:03 a.m.

Two letters published by the Tribune on Jan. 22, one by Ronald H. Rodriguez ("Profiling at O'Hare") and the other by Janet Poore ("Get over it"), miss the point of...

ANTI-LOITERING SPIN

August 10, 2021 at 10:59 p.m.

The front-page headline regarding the U.S. Supreme Court's decision declaring Chicago's "anti-gang loitering law" unconstitutional dramatically distorts the substance and import of that decision ("Top court ruling shows way to...

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