Steve Chapman is a columnist and editorial writer for the Chicago Tribune.
Trump's Wall Is Performance Art, Not Border Security
The president's wall promise rests on the same basis as a Ponzi scheme.
Steve Chapman
Latest from Steve Chapman
A Cure for Mass Shootings Doesn't Exist
There are no plausible options that offer more than the faintest prospect of preventing the next massacre.
Trump Leads GOP in Turn Against Legal Immigration
The president's plan would slash legal immigration by as much as half, the most drastic cut in nearly a century.
Rob Porter Debacle Caps Off One Year of Needless White House Turmoil
Porter's record of domestic abuse elicited scant notice or concern from his superiors.
Rising Tax Rate Can't End Illinois' Economic Drought
Yet leading candidates to replace Gov. Bruce Rauner think the only problem with the state's income tax rate is that it doesn't go high enough.
Woman Still Getting Civil-War Survivor Benefits Shows How Federal Policies Mortgage the Future
Abraham Lincoln couldn't have dreamed that 21st-century Americans would still be paying for pensions created under him.
Trump Repeats the Folly of Protectionism
Pricier goods aren't a minor side effect of President Trump's new tariffs; they're the central purpose.
Trump's Weak Response to Opioid Overdoses
More innovative remedies will be needed to actually turn back the relentless onslaught of overdose fatalities.
No Forced Childbirth for Undocumented Immigrant Teen in Federal Custody
This was a simple choice: Compel the girl to give birth or let her get an abortion. The fact that she is undocumented doesn't change that reality.
Legal Marijuana Is Becoming the Norm
The case for full legalization becomes stronger-and more politically acceptable-all the time.
The Vietnam Syndrome: How We Lost It and Why We Need It Back
How could we be repeating the mistakes of Vietnam already?
Sanders' Medicare for All Delusion
Americans might love what Sanders offers in the way of more benefits for more people. What they would hate is paying for it.
Why Trump's Wall Is Not Going to Happen
Plenty of GOP members would rather put Barack Obama on Mount Rushmore than underwrite this addled project.
Trump Out of Touch With Reality on Afghanistan
The president's proclamations about Afghanistan are not a plan; they're a letter to Santa Claus.
Trump vs. the Business Community
Obama was not the friend CEOs think the president of the U.S. should be. But in Trump, they're finding out what it's like to have a real enemy.
Despite the President's Pandering, White Nationalists Are Still Losing
As Trump learned this week, pandering to white nationalists means alienating most other Americans.
Trump Launches a Suicidal War on His Own Party
Instead of striving to ingratiate himself with those who hold his fate in their hands, the president seems determined to antagonize them.
Shutting Out Foreign Workers Would Cost American Jobs
History suggests that if the government chokes off the supply of foreign labor, American workers won't step in to reap rewards.
Trump Is on the Losing Side of the Culture War With Transgender Military Issue
The administration thinks it will resound with Trump voters. But during the campaign, he claimed to be a better friend to the LGBT community than Hillary Clinton.
The Roberts Court Has Been a Free Speech Champion
Liberals and others will often find fault with the court, as well as Trump. But thanks to the justices, they will have a wide berth to complain.
Curbing Traffic Stops Would Save Lives
So why do cops rely so much on the practice? Enforcing traffic laws is a large share of what they do.
Trump Forces a GOP Retreat On Russia
Most of the party's members of Congress have done their best to downplay or excuse Trump's strange fondness for Vladimir Putin.
Confederate Monuments Deserve to Go
Taking them down and putting up different statues is a reminder that in understanding the past, we shape the future.
The Foolishness of Pursuing Regime Change in Iran
A certain amount of danger is unavoidable in a multinational world. And the dangers of trying to achieve total security are the worst dangers of all.
The Illusory Savings From Cutting Medicaid
Congressional Republicans promise to achieve greater frugality in Medicaid without inflicting more hardship. It's not gonna happen.
Trump Exaggerates Price of Paris Climate Accord
Today, as in the past, the opponents of environmental protection vastly exaggerate the expense of reducing pollution.
Jared Kushner's Russian Escapade
It raises the perennial question about Trump: What's worse-if he doesn't know what he's doing or if he does?
Trump's Half-Baked Budget
Its projection relies on giddy GDP growth estimates that few credible economists, liberal or conservative, take seriously.
Don't Rush to Impeachment
There's a reason it's supposed to be hard to remove the president.
Trump Makes Himself Look Guilty
By firing the FBI director who was in charge of the Russia investigation, Trump fed the flames licking at his administration.
On Churches in Politics, Trump Does … Nothing
The president's executive order on religious freedom lacks any sort of substance.
Public Toilets and Private Burdens
Demanding access to businesses' restrooms comes with costs.
Injection Facilities a Bold Remedy for Overdose Deaths
Safety measures help when opioid addicts won't stop.
In Syria, the Wrong Kind of Humanitarian Intervention
Bombs shouldn't be taking the place of aid.
Trump's Risky Syria Gambit
The president's tendency to pursue easy "fixes" is going to be a problem.
Alternatives To Deadly Police Force
Law enforcement has room to make humane changes, without putting their lives in peril.
The Coming Federal Fiscal Binge
Ready for another round of tax cuts combined with spending increases?
Trump Isn't Running the Government Like a Business
A CEO actually learns from mistakes.
Opioid Deaths: Another Drug War Failure
Prohibition is the cause of the problem; it's not the solution.
Steve King's Fear of Immigrants Is Ignorant of History
History shows a pattern of assimilation, not danger.
In Chicago, Bad Policing Doesn't Stop Crime
Instead it turns citizens against their protectors.
Trump's Hard Choices in Afghanistan
America has been trying to have it both ways for too long.
