Columns
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Lawmakers should act to reform utility rate systemAug 28, 2025 4:00 am - Guest columnist Emmanuel Thomas: The biggest driver of rising energy bills is ComEd's delivery charges, not the cost of electricity, as the utility claims; lawmakers must reform utility ratemaking to rein in ComEd's out-of-control spending
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Fear. Money. And a story of a community’s brush with opportunityAug 25, 2025 4:00 am - Guest columnist Louis S. Guagenti: Imagine a ‘Joan’ and the dilemma she poses for an affluent suburb dealing with mental illness and homelessness.
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The obituary as perspective on the news and what mattersAug 22, 2025 9:34 am - I have been writing this column about newspaper issues for more than 25 years. How does it come to pass that I have never talked about obituaries? Apparently, I needed a ...
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The big bill is not beautiful; it’s perniciousAug 22, 2025 4:00 am - Guest columnist Ralph Martire: The Congressional Budget Office projects $536 billion in Medicare cuts over 10 years due to the "Big Beautiful Bill's" tax cuts, worsening inequality and state budget deficits.
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What animal lovers and children have to offer the newsAug 21, 2025 8:57 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: Uplifting stories like a months-long search for a blind man's lost dog and a boy's "free compliments" stand restore faith in human nature amid divisive news.
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The varied reporting at the sunrise of a new school yearAug 15, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: As a new school year begins, the Daily Herald pledges continued comprehensive coverage of suburban schools beyond just first-day photos and sports, covering diverse issues and achievements.
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Notes from history on an Alaska summitAug 13, 2025 4:00 am - Guest columnist Arthur I. Cyr: The phrase “North to Alaska” is the title of a popular song performed by Johnny Horton, rockabilly singer of the 1950s, and of a 1960 film with John Wayne. Both song and film are earthy and gritty, emphasizing the uncertainty of life. That sentiment is appropriate to open discussion of the Alaska summit between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Donald Trump of the United States.
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Taking a little time out for some not-so-magic wordsAug 09, 2025 4:30 pm - It’s August. It’s hot. There’s rancor everywhere around us. Let’s take a break this week and cool off with something light. It starts with a letter to the editor, a newsp...
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Things you can learn in newspaper stories about something elseJul 31, 2025 4:00 am - Columnist Jim Slusher: From time to time, I like to take off on a routine inspired by the late, great Chicago Sun-Times columnist Sydney J. Harris, who often found the most intriguing facts in unexpected places and compiled them into columns under the theme “things I learned while looking up something else.
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Don’t let innovation be a casualty of policyJul 30, 2025 4:00 am - Guest columnist Mark Denzler: The EPIC Act aims to correct an imbalance in drug development that favors complex biologics over convenient, affordable pill-based treatments