Columnists

An app for Polymarket, an online prediction market site. Online prediction market platforms allow people to place bets on wide-ranging subjects such as sports, finance, politics and currents events. (Scott Olson/Getty)

David Greising: Prediction markets have caught states by surprise. Illinois has its work cut out for it.

By David Greising

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

The stakes are high for the states as the conflicts and uncertainty over prediction markets...

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

By Heidi Stevens

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

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

Then-Chicago mayoral candidates Willie Wilson, center, and Brandon Johnson chat at a mayoral forum at Steinmetz College Prep, Jan. 31, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Laura Washington: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s reelection campaign will be in trouble if Willie Wilson runs again

By Laura Washington

March 25, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

If Willie Wilson gets in the mayoral race, Black votes will come out of Mayor...

The Forty Acres Fresh Market is located at 5713 W. Chicago Ave. in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood, as shown Sept. 29, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Edward Keegan: West Side fresh market asks, ‘What would it look like if we actually got our 40 acres?’

By Edward Keegan

January 25, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

The new Forty Acres Fresh Market on Chicago Avenue in the Austin neighborhood succeeds at...

A woman is detained by Border Patrol agents on Jan. 21, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The driver and passenger of a vehicle and several observers were detained after a car accident on Blaisdell Avenue. (Stephen Maturen/Getty)

Heidi Stevens: As federal agents target citizens, where are the folks who cried ‘tyranny’ over pandemic restrictions?

By Heidi Stevens

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

I’m wondering how federal immigration agents' actions sit with those who saw vaccine mandates as...

People walk on a snow-covered shopping street in the city center on January 21, 2026, in Nuuk, Greenland. (Sean Gallup/Getty)

Elizabeth Shackelford: Humoring Donald Trump is appeasement, and appeasement is surrender

By Elizabeth Shackelford

January 22, 2026 at 1:25 p.m.

Threatening broad financial punishment or force if Denmark doesn’t hand Greenland to the U.S. is...

A truck carries an Israeli armored personnel carrier as it moves along the border with the northern Gaza Strip on Jan. 16, 2026, in Southern Israel. (Amir Levy/Getty)

Daniel DePetris: The Trump administration launches Phase 2 of the Gaza plan. Will peace materialize?

By Daniel DePetris

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

As the White House would like to proclaim its policy on Gaza as a clear...

Demonstrators, including some wearing traditional Native American dress, on Jan. 10, 2026, protest the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a federal immigration agent in Minneapolis. (David Guttenfelder/The New York Times)

Clarence Page: ICE has been accused of profiling Native Americans. What a cruel irony.

By Clarence Page

January 18, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Tribal leaders in Minnesota say federal agents are detaining members in raids on immigrants because...

Ald. Gilbert Villegas, 36th, second from left, talks with members of the Chicago City Council's Office of Financial Analysis before moderating a discussion on the city's budget gap, during a public meeting at the Ukrainian Cultural Center on Aug. 19, 2025. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

David Greising: Chicago aldermen would be wise to strengthen the council’s Office of Financial Analysis

By David Greising

January 16, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Chicago faces a projected $1.17 billion budget gap for 2027. There is work to be...

A young Bears fan wears a cheese grater hat while watching players warm up before facing the Packers on Jan. 10, 2026, at Soldier Field. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Heidi Stevens: The joy from the Chicago Bears’ run is about more than football. It’s remembering what we share.

By Heidi Stevens

January 16, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

Sports — along with art, books and nature — are not just distractions; they’re paths...

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, shakes hands with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on May 7, 2025, ahead of celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany during the World War II. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

Daniel DePetris: Venezuela has been introduced to supposed ally Vladimir Putin’s fickle side

By Daniel DePetris

January 13, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

This isn’t the first time Russia chose to sit on the sidelines as one of...

President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a House GOP member retreat at the Kennedy Center in Washington, on Jan. 6, 2026. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Clarence Page: Guess who fears impeachment? A guy who’s been through it twice.

By Clarence Page

January 11, 2026 at 5:00 a.m.

President Donald Trump is showing concern about the possibility of an impeachment if the GOP...

Paintings by Bruce Goff in the exhibition "Bruce Goff: Material Worlds" the Art Institute of Chicago, Jan. 9, 2026. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Edward Keegan: Bruce Goff was not your typical architect

By Edward Keegan

January 13, 2026 at 1:22 p.m.

Providing context for the idiosyncratic work of architect Bruce Goff isn’t easy. The Art Institute's...