Columns
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Aside from punditry, keeping our coming primaries in perspectiveNov 13, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: There were precious few off-year elections around the country last week, but those we saw produced a bounty of analysis, punditry and political hand-wringing. Perhaps more than anything, this is a sign of the tensions governing our election politics these days.
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The radical commitment to showing hope, not hateNov 10, 2025 4:00 am - Guest columnist Tom Montgomery Fate: Given my recent participation in nonviolent protests at the Broadview Detention Center in suburban Chicago, it has been frustrating to see how we have been depicted by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security.
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Hegseth’s misguided efforts to censor mediaNov 06, 2025 4:00 am - What’s in a name? A lot, when the Trump administration decides the Department of Defense should become the Department of War, and at the same time is demanding that the m...
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History, politicians, truth, untruth, lies, beliefs and balanceNov 06, 2025 4:00 am - EDITOR’S NOTE: Jim Slusher is taking some time off. The following column is a reprise of his “Letter to Readers” from Feb. 9, 2023. Probably since before Charles Pin...
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Halloween tricks in Springfield: Chicago transit bailout leaves everyone else holding the bagNov 05, 2025 5:00 am - State Sen. Don DeWitte writes that Halloween was all tricks and no treats this year in Springfield, as Democrats rammed through a costly public transit bill in the early hours of Oct. 31.
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Two events on one day: A disparity in scope, a familiarity of purposeOct 30, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: Stories about two very different museums on the same day expose the commonality between them in appealing to the heart and mind through visual arts.
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What is real message in referendums like that of Dist. 214?Oct 29, 2025 4:00 am - Guest columnist Elizabeth Bauer: It should go without saying, but apparently needs to be said, that maintaining facilities is a part of sound governance, not an “extra” to be paid for with new taxes.
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Oct 28, 2025 4:00 am - Guest columnist Lou Sandoval: Across Illinois, small business owners face tough choices every day to stay competitive in a rapidly changing economy. One of the most significant decisions many have made is to go cashless.
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Tweets, reality TV and confused excitementOct 23, 2025 3:02 pm - Columnist Jim Slusher: I wonder if you can guess which part of this phrase, which I noticed while reviewing X one day, got me to click on the link that followed: “that is not how you use an exclamation mark, kim kardashian.” That’s right. It was “exclamation mark.”
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Rewriting pain into healing: A father, a son and the journey to recoveryOct 20, 2025 4:00 am - Guest columnist : Despite the grim statistics on opioid overdose deaths, there are success stories like Jarrett's, who now helps others through his work as a recovery specialist.