Heidi Stevens

Heidi Stevens is a former Chicago Tribune columnist.

Mary Claire Haver speaks onstage at the’ We Need to Talk About Women’ s Health’ panel during Hello Sunshine’s Second Annual Shine Away Experiential Event, Connected by AT&T at Nya Studios on Oct. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images North America/TNS)

Heidi Stevens: Women ‘will not be shamed into silent suffering’ in this menopause moment. Hallelujah

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

Women are clearly done being sidelined, shushed, gaslit and otherwise disregarded the moment their bodies pass child-bearing age, writes Heidi Stevens.

Chelsea Clinton reacts after finishing the 130th Boston Marathon on April 20, 2026, in Boston. (Paul Rutherford/Getty)

Heidi Stevens: I wasn’t in Boston, but here’s why I’m cheering Chelsea Clinton’s marathon success

April 23, 2026 at 10:48 a.m.

Chelsea Clinton is a model of quiet, unflappable composure who just keeps absolutely slaying at life, writes Heidi Stevens.

Special education teacher Tyesa Walton stands inside Chloe’s Closet in Dunbar Vocatiobal Career Academy in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. Walton started Chloe’s Closet to provide prom dresses and other clothing for students who need them in honor of her late daughter. (Sylvia Barragan)

Heidi Stevens: Ahead of prom season, a teacher’s grief blossoms into a boutique that helps students make memories

April 17, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Tyesa Walton started Chloe's Closet to help her students at Dunbar Vocational Career Academy access formal wear as well as essentials.

President Donald Trump pretends to aim a sniper gun while speaking with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, April 6, 2026, in Washington. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

Heidi Stevens: As Trump threatens to end a civilization, it’s clear we never should’ve gotten to this point

April 8, 2026 at 4:37 p.m.

The president of the United States shouldn’t conduct foreign policy via a racist, profanity-laden Easter morning post, writes Heidi Stevens.

Little moments can start taking on that beautiful, terrifying weight of anticipation: How many more of these do I get? (Dreamstime)

Heidi Stevens: When an empty nest looms in the near distance, even little parenting chores feel like a privilege

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

Little moments have started taking on a beautiful, terrifying weight of anticipation, writes Heidi Stevens: How many more of these do I get?

Visitors stop to see Gustave Caillebotte’s Paris Street; Rainy Day painting, March 4, 2026, at the Art Institute of Chicago. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune)

Heidi Stevens: In a city where culture sets our pulse, one school’s struggle shows how arts education is at risk

March 27, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Arts education benefits the people within it and outside it equally, writes Heidi Stevens.

Books are little empathy gardens, feeding and growing the stuff that makes us feel, makes us care, makes us human, writes Heidi Stevens. (Tero Vesalainen/Dreamstime)

Heidi Stevens: We need empathy more than ever. This would be a terrible time to say goodbye to books

March 19, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

AI taking over reading homework feels like the result of a problem, not the cause of it, writes Heidi Stevens.

Dopamine, author Michaeleen Doucleff learned, sends us on the chase for pleasure. And dopamine magnets (her term for ultraprocessed foods and screens) pull us — often subconsciously — toward them. (Dreamstime)

Heidi Stevens: ‘Dopamine Kids’ is a fascinating read — even if you don’t want a yard full of chickens

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

Michaeleen Doucleff's book is about understanding the forces that shape our habits, our days and our family dynamics. For better or worse.

Team USA's Grace Zumwinkle, left, and Taylor Heise celebrate after winning the women's ice hockey gold medal game against Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Feb. 19, 2026. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Heidi Stevens: Dissenting Americans keep making lemonade out of Trump’s lemons — including his hockey call

February 25, 2026 at 3:55 p.m.

Trump has made a big deal about championing women’s sports. But his call to the USA men's hockey team spoke volumes, writes Heidi Stevens.

United States gold medalist Elana Meyers Taylor celebrates at the finish after the women's monobob competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)

Heidi Stevens: I cheered when Elana Meyers Taylor won gold. I cheered louder when she thanked her nannies.

February 18, 2026 at 11:27 a.m.

I love that Elana Meyers Taylor shouted out her nannies alongside her husband and parents and kids, writes Heidi Stevens.

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