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Let the Abbate judgment stand
The jury has spoken: The Anthony Abbate case was not just about an off-duty cop who got drunk and beat up a female bartender half his size....
Reset the timer
Well, we almost got there. We got tantalizingly close to a full week without the arrest or indictment of a Chicago politician. One whole...
Leading from the trenches
A group of 21 Illinois lawmakers filed a new pension reform bill Wednesday and hosted a news conference to unveil it. That may not sound...
Balance, Mr. President
"What we have done is kicked this can down the road. We are now at the end of the road and are not in a position to kick it any further....
Email privacy at last?
The David Petraeus sex scandal, which occurred after an FBI investigation of allegedly harassing emails sent to a Florida woman he knew, was...
A vote for disability rights
Even when the United Nations sets out to do the right thing, it can count on a skeptical response in the U.S. That's happening now, as the...
Illinois pays for its mortgage mess
The housing recovery in Chicago is lagging behind the comeback in many other U.S. cities, and the main reason is no mystery.
Tax and tell
Illinois has a reputation for being an expensive and difficult place to do business, a big reason why the state has the ninth-highest...
Come one, come all
Democratic honchos in the 2nd Congressional District are fretting that the race to replace U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is turning into a...
Hospitals, A to F
Here's some good news from a new hospital report card: The Chicago metropolitan region had more hospitals score A's — 33 of them &#...
Newark's triumph
Maybe in the holiday rush you missed this intriguing school reform news. Teachers in Newark, N.J., recently approved a new contract. What'...
A woman's place is in the House
Where are those binders full of women when you need them? The Republican Party could sure use a few.
End the 'eavesdropping' battle
For two years, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez has vigorously defended the indefensible notion that citizens shouldn't be allowed...
Now here's a stimulus plan
Now here's an economic stimulus program that every American has good reason to support: After a decade of posturing, U.S. and European Union...
Safer roads for all of us
Undocumented immigrants can't drive legally in Illinois. That doesn't mean they aren't driving.
State spending that is worth the cost
In a state that's broke, two words can trigger palpitations in groups that rely on state funding: supplemental appropriation.
The painful conversation
Closing a school, no matter how poorly it performs, is emotionally wrenching for students, parents and teachers. Now imagine that you had to...
Morsi overreaches, Egypt roars
Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi had a problem with the country's judges, who came to office under former dictator Hosni Mubarak and who he...
Dig deeper, transit riders
Call it a "modest reduction in discounts." Call it a fare hike. Either way, you're likely to pay more for your commute starting in January...
Harold Who?
Time may not heal all wounds, but it does let scar tissue fade. Today's loss is, come some tomorrow, a heartache only to those who...
Tough talks
Leaders of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees have been meeting with Gov. Pat Quinn's top aides once a month...
Consistently mediocre
Any kid trudging home to deliver a lackluster report card knows the first question from a parent: How will you do better next time? That's...
Getting paid to sit on the couch
Tribune reporters Jared S. Hopkins and Alex Richards recently exposed one of those head-scratching how-Illinois-works stories that will...
France, interrupted
When French voters seated a Socialist Party president in May, they were led to expect a break from the pressures of excessive debt, budget...
Take the money and run!
"Fortunately, there may be a middle-ground in which Democrats can raise revenues from higher earners and Republicans can avoid rate...
The looming hunger crisis
The cost of a typical turkey-with-all-the-trimmings meal rose by about three cents this year. At less than $5 per serving, the traditional...
Black Friday Eve
More than 360,000 people have signed an online petition started by a Target employee, urging the retailer not to open on Thanksgiving.
Iran's clients
For about a week, the Israeli military and the militant leaders of Hamas have been in a simmering war, Israeli warplanes pounding targets in...
Stop the map mischief
Ohio, the mother of all tossup states, gave its 18 electoral votes — and with them, the White House — to Barack Obama on Nov. 6....
Much ado about something
Twice in recent months, Tribune reporters were surprised to learn that their interviews with city officials had been secretly — and...
Requiem for the Twinkie?
Friday's news that the company making Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Wonder Bread is preparing to liquidate touched off a blame game among...
BP pays a modest price
BP has agreed to settle criminal charges stemming from its leading role in the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil spill of 2010, which cost 11...
Moving on
If U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.'s constituents were troubled by the uncertainty that has enveloped him for months, you wouldn't have known it...
Bloody replay in Gaza ...
It may sound odd to say the danger Israelis face from rockets in Gaza grew too large to tolerate: How many such attacks would most nations...
... and brief candor from Abbas
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said something the other day that briefly caused a ruckus, before all attention in the Middle East...
It's worse than you thought
Fans of classic Peanuts know that, once again, Linus van Pelt spent this Halloween night waiting for the Great Pumpkin. Each year as Linus...
A last straw? Billboards to balance budget
It's tough to get excited about billboards, even the shiny, electronic variety.
Don't appeal Abbate verdict
In a courtroom at the Dirksen Federal Building this week, clout lost. That's good. But Chicago taxpayers lost, too. A civil case that...
Beyond — not over — the cliff
U.S. House and Senate leaders will meet Friday at the White House with President Barack Obama. The president plans to greet Republicans with...
'I want to go to school'
Curtis Gardner is an 11-year-old Chicago fifth-grader who has already lost 186 days of school. That's right — more than a...
Now that we have your attention
It didn't escape anyone's notice that Latino voters helped carry President Barack Obama over the finish line Nov. 6. Suddenly, everybody's...
Petraeus should testify
David Petraeus is hardly the first leader in government to have an affair. What's stunning about his admission and resignation Friday as CIA...
Backyard brawls
Months into Gov. Pat Quinn's plan to shut down a handful of obsolete state-run facilities, the task is proving difficult. It is taking...
Equality wins at the polls
For years, the debate about same-sex marriage was mainly an intellectual controversy. But in 2003, it moved into the realm of actual policy....
What went wrong in Benghazi
Day by day we learn more about why U.S. officials and security forces failed to protect Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans...
Keep your promise
Illinois Democrats have scored a political trifecta: With veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the General Assembly and an incumbent...
Path to relevance
Tuesday's election was more than a wake-up call for the Illinois Republican Party. Think supersonic cannonade.
No more illusions
Illinois education officials reported last week that more than eight in 10 elementary school students met or exceeded standards in math...
A path around the fiscal cliff
President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner made their opening statements Friday in negotiations to resolve the nation's budget...
Business at the cliff
On Tuesday, the voters spoke. On Wednesday and Thursday, investors took a turn. And their concern about the fiscal cliff put financial...
Your countdown to the cliff
Democrats and Republicans in Washington each had spent two years counting on Tuesday's election to give their party the upper hand in...
The Preckwinkle seal of approval
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, the reformer, wasn't on the ballot this week. But her evil twin was campaigning hard.
The president's big night
Our congratulations, our good wishes, to President Barack Obama. Watching his momentum wash west Tuesday night, we were struck by how many...
Illinois Democrats and their realm
Two years ago, when voters nationwide delivered a stinging rebuke to a Democratic president and his party, the state of Illinois was a...
CPS, level with parents now
Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett says the school system needs to delay a state-imposed Dec. 1 deadline to deliver a list of...
Choices for the courts
The Tribune completes its endorsements today in contested races for the Illinois Appellate Court and collar-county circuit courts. We...
Involving parents
Chicago's teachers often tell us that they alone can't educate kids. They need help from parents. The teachers are disappointed that some...
May we offer a final tap on the shoulder?
Endorsements, paper, scissors: To be direct, we hope you'll go to the polls Tuesday with the Tribune endorsements that appear on this page...
China's future uncertain under its nervous regime
If you're in Beijing this week, there are some things that you may not find. Balloons or ping-pong balls, CNN on the TV in your hotel...
Death threats for the Quinncome tax
In the annals of legislative failure, the night of 1/11/11 looms large. Democrats in the General Assembly raised the personal income tax...
Two triumphs for Chicago
In 1836, public officials who oversaw creation of the Illinois and Michigan Canal were shrewd. Protective. They foresaw that future...
Fire these 6 judges
The Cook County Democratic Party can think of no reason why you shouldn't vote to keep Circuit Judge Cynthia Brim on the bench. We can:
Defiance, meet Beijing
Mitt Romney got the crowd's attention during a recent campaign stop in Defiance, Ohio, when he announced that Chrysler, a major local...
Awaiting the job numbers
The biggest day of this presidential campaign is Tuesday: Election Day. The second-biggest comes a bit earlier: this Friday.
Sandy reminds us who's really in control
On Sunday afternoon, millions of Americans moved through their daily routines, secure in the belief that they were in command of their...
Scared senseless: Skokie schools ban Halloween parties
Skokie/Morton Grove School District 69 has decided what it wants to be for Halloween: a party pooper.
Why some CPS schools must close
By Dec. 1, Chicago Public Schools officials must deliver to state lawmakers a list of schools slated to close at the end of this school...
Electoral College could deliver election surprise
If you want to make God laugh, says the proverb, tell him your plans. The American people plan to go to the polls next Tuesday to elect a...
Letting drivers pay to avoid expressway delays
If you've ever been mired in a major traffic jam on a Chicago expressway — meaning, if you commuted during rush hour last week —...
Is cheerleading the most hazardous event in sport?
If you go to a college or high school football game, you'll see dedicated athletes giving their all in a pastime that in some cases,...
Time to ground launch aid
After dickering for seven years before the World Trade Organization, the Boeing Co. and its European rival, Airbus, finally got some action.
Europe in 13 months
European leaders talk and talk, but they can't change the most important facts about the debt crisis that has put much of the continent into...
When a word cuts deep
John Franklin Stephens is a Special Olympics athlete who has written a letter that we hope all Americans will read.
Corner office calling
More than 100 of the nation's business leaders made Thursday an uncomfortable day for President Barack Obama and Gov. Mitt Romney, but a...
On the mend
One of the highlights of the budget presentation Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle made last week to the Tribune editorial...
Promises kept
Two years into her term, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle is headed toward a coup de maître in Cook County...
Pension head-fake
The Illinois Constitution needs a fix that would enable reforms to public pensions statewide. Unfortunately, the proposed pension...
Agreeable — and cautious
Monday night, before President Barack Obama and challenger Mitt Romney debated, a new Washington Post/ABC poll showed how treacherous a...
Choices for Cook County
Cook County voters will face decisions in a long list of races in 2014. This year, only four contested races are on the ballot for county...
For MWRD: Shore, Steele and Thompson
Taxpayers are in a fury over government expenditures that go well beyond necessities. Yet commissioners of the Metropolitan Water...
Bring some order to the court
Cook County Circuit Judge Cynthia Brim isn't allowed in a courthouse without a sheriff's escort. She's still drawing a $182,000-a-...
One vote that saves money
For years now, thanks to deregulation, a lot of people have been cutting their electric bills by signing up with suppliers who charge less...
For the Illinois House
61st District: Republican Rep. JoAnn Osmond of Antioch has represented the Lake County area since 2002....
At their best
Confronted with a do-or-die debate on Oct. 3, an energized Mitt Romney surprised America — and that lifeless opponent standing to...
Libya reckoning
Day by day, the public is learning more about what happened in the Sept. 11 attack that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three...
For the House: Duckworth, Schilling
Maybe he just can't help himself. But freshman Republican Rep. Joe Walsh has been alienating people since he unseated three-term incumbent...
Romney, Obama and taxes
Mitt Romney has a tax plan that is clear, comprehensive and highly appealing. He wants to cut income tax rates for everyone, eliminate...
A dream debate
Do you need to read once more that Wednesday night's presidential candidates' debate — 8 p.m. Chicago time — really, really...
Mr. Madigan's bill, Ms. Purkey's pension
Gail Purkey wasn't employed by the state of Illinois long enough during the 1980s to earn a state pension. Her stint with House Speaker...
Redlining Iran
The American and Israeli governments are in complete agreement that Iran is moving toward building a nuclear arsenal — and that it...
August 17
The third Friday in August should be a good day to get a tee time in Illinois. Gov. Pat Quinn just called Illinois lawmakers off the golf...
