Ask Amy
Teen churchgoer finds faith faltering - October 9, 2011 - Dear Amy: I am 16 years old and have been going to church with my family almost every week for my entire life.
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Barbara Brotman
Kol Nidre tradition ends in Gary - October 3, 2011 - For 70 years, Harry Berke has chanted Kol Nidre at Temple Israel in Gary, Ind.
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Steve Chapman
Obama's burden - October 9, 2011 - Candidates for president generally blare recorded rock or country hits before their campaign rallies. At President Barack Obama's appearances, expect a different form of music: whistling in the dark.
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Teddy Greenstein
Michigan's defensive turnaround doesn't satisfy Hoke - October 4, 2011 - Don't even try to laud Michigan for being 5-0 with one of the nation's stingiest defenses. First-year coach Brady Hoke will have none of it.
David Haugh's In the Wake of the News
Bowman has physical roster he wants in fiscal shape - October 8, 2011 - Somebody dared to ask Joel Quenneville before Saturday's 5-2 victory over the Stars in the home opener if it would take a month to blend all the new Blackhawks into his system.
Melissa Harris' Chicago Confidential
Chicago Ideas Week preview - October 9, 2011 - INTRO
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Globetrotting by Philip Hersh
Mosop wants Chicago Marathon course record - October 6, 2011 - Eight years ago, veteran Italian distance running coach Renato Canova watched an 18-year-old Kenyan, Moses Mosop, do a tough track workout in the alpine town of Sestriere, 6,600 feet above sea level.
Jon Hilkevitch's Getting Around
'Pan Am' show recalls happier airtime - October 3, 2011 - Airline passengers are enjoying the safest period in commercial aviation. But as the new television show "Pan Am" reminds us, there is little else to enjoy about flying these days and no reason to believe happier times will return.
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Ask Rex Huppke: I Just Work Here
Psst: It's OK to cheat on your employer - October 9, 2011 - Brace yourselves. I'm about to come out in favor of infidelity.
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Chris Jones
Three Arts Club honorees celebrate - October 7, 2011 - Performers Jacqueline Williams and Karen Aldridge, and director Eddie Tores, celebrate winning the 3Arts Awards earlier this week; $15,000 individual checks offered without strings. Awards target women and persons of color.
Gregory Karp
Conquering with complaints - October 7, 2011 - Consumers today are more empowered than ever after they've been wronged by a company. That's because squeaky wheels have more and better ways to squeak.
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John Kass
Some bright ideas for stops on the guided expedition of the Chicago Way - October 8, 2011 - There's this thrill running up my leg — and I haven't had it too often — but it sure has been tingling like mad ever since I heard about Chicago Ideas Week.
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Julia Keller
Second crack for Gellhorn, conscientious witness and novelist - October 7, 2011 - History is real, but sometimes reality doesn't tell the whole story.
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Rick Kogan's Sidewalks
Libraries say a lot, do a lot for a city - October 7, 2011 - This being the 140th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, perhaps you are of a mind to mark the calamitous occasion in some fashion, and a fine one might be to attend a production of the colorfully inventive if somewhat frustrating "The Great...
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Greg Kot
Concert review: Van Hunt at Schubas - October 8, 2011 - Van Hunt’s concert Friday at a sold-out Schubas ended the way it began, in a hail of feedback.
Gail MarksJarvis
Data points to an economy in neutral - October 9, 2011 - No recession … at least, not now.
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Nina Metz
DVD delivery from a mumblecore master - October 7, 2011 - "I have instant-availability fatigue."
Clarence Page
Leaders lost, lessons gained - October 9, 2011 - What makes a great leader? While President Barack Obama and his Republican challengers grapple mightily with that question, the deaths of Steve Jobs and the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, two leaders who shunned political office, tell us the answer.
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Michael Phillips
'30s oddity 'Gabriel' horns in on politics - October 7, 2011
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Mike Mulligan
Safety first, anyone? - October 4, 2011 - The Bears' incessant safety dance has created more headaches than a bad '80s song on loop play. The problem seemed to have been solved last season when Chris Harris and Danieal Manning were reunited four years after starting together in the Super...
Mary Ellen Podmolik
The new economics of refinancing - October 7, 2011 - Every week seems to bring more good news on mortgage rates, and a new group of consumers starts calling around, seeking to capitalize on record-low or near-record-low mortgage rates by refinancing their loans.
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Dan Pompei
Lions a Cutler patsy - October 8, 2011 - Jay Cutler and William Clay Ford have something in common.
Howard Reich
Esperanza Spalding draws young new audience to jazz - October 8, 2011 - A very different kind of audience crowded into Symphony Center on Friday night.
Phil Rogers
Rangers' Daniel quite the architect - October 8, 2011 - ARLINGTON, Texas — These must be uneasy times for Theo Epstein. He would not figure to have had a great Saturday night, undoubtedly sorting through his career crossroad somewhere, whether at his home in Boston or maybe at a Starbucks in...
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Phil Rosenthal
Pension overhaul gets executive push - October 8, 2011 - A lot of people in James Farrell's position would choose to take on no greater challenge than getting into a good restaurant, getting out of a sand trap or getting away to someplace where the living is easy.
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Ameet Sachdev's Chicago Law
U. of I. Law School under review for false admissions data - October 7, 2011 - The first-year law school class at the University of Illinois is not as smart as the university said it was.
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Mary Schmich
The look, the touch, the … bulk - October 9, 2011 - Close your eyes for a moment and remember your first.
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Dawn Turner Trice
New law woven specifically for hair braiders - October 5, 2011 - Frances Simmons is a professional hair braider who has been honing her craft since she was a kid living on the West Side, braiding hair on her front porch. She knows that her job not only requires nimble fingers, but knowledge about hair texture...
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Phil Vettel
Phil Vettel recommends - October 6, 2011 - Planning on running in this year's Bank of America Chicago Marathon?
John von Rhein
Muti, CSO run an Italian marathon in honor of the Mahler centenary - October 7, 2011 - This year orchestras all over the world are mounting any number of programs to commemorate the centenary of Gustav Mahler's death. You may safely assume that none of them will be as unusual or enterprising as the one Riccardo Muti is conducting...
Ellen Warren
Some products look a lot better on TV - October 6, 2011 - Life is a journey. A journey littered with the temptations of gizmos "As Seen on TV."
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Jen Weigel
Therapy update: What readers said - October 7, 2011 - Our column about therapy being different today than it was 30 years ago generated several comments. Here's what we received through email or on Facebook.
Jon Yates' "What's Your Problem?"
Problem Solver: Application error mars SUV's title - October 8, 2011 - Anne Topa did her due diligence before buying a used 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe from a private party in April.
Eric Zorn
Does Christie have 2020 visions? - October 9, 2011 - "Now is not my time," said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie last week when closing the door on a presidential bid in 2012.
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Matt Bowen
Lions' '4 Verticals' a problem for Bears - October 8, 2011 - Calvin Johnson is the top red-zone weapon in the NFL because of his size, strength and ability to go get the football at the point of attack. Monday night, the Lions will work to get Johnson open inside the 20-yard line by targeting the Bears'...
Dennis Byrne
Disappearance of the frontier itch - October 4, 2011 - In 1893, historian Frederick Jackson Turner argued that the American frontier had closed, raising an important question: Absent the frontier, what would fuel the audacious, inventive and energetic nature of the bold American character?
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Meghan Daum
Don't blame men for TV time travel, like new shows Playboy Club and Pan Am - September 23, 2011 - Perhaps it's been brought to your attention that this is a big week for retrograde representations of women on television. Monday marked the premiere of NBC's "The Playboy Club," a noir-ish look at Hugh Hefner's flagship Chicago club in 1963;...
Don Dziedzina
Get hooked on muskie fishing - October 7, 2011 - Muskies are the fish of 10,000 casts.
Leah Eskin
Best dressed - October 9, 2011 - If beans competed on "Project Runway," the cranberry bean would win. The ordinary bean loafs around in the lumpy green pod or the lumpy brown pod. Maybe beige. Maybe russet. Nothing runway-chic.
Ilyce Glink
Mortgage customer service can be pitiful even for those who have no trouble paying - October 3, 2011 - Q. I know that you are used to people having problems with loan modifications, where the banks lose stuff. We have that problem with two different banks on the house that my sister and I inherited, although we're not having trouble making the...
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Jonah Goldberg
Debate jars Perry out of sweet spot - September 15, 2011 - Mitt Romney and Rick Perry are exactly where they want to be.
Benny Kass
Starker exchange could defer capital gains tax - October 7, 2011 - Q: I have a rental house I have owned since 1977. It currently grosses $1,400 per month. The house is 120 years old and I have done most of the work on the house myself. Now that I am getting older (62), I would like to sell this property. I...
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Joyce Lain Kennedy
Tell your story at every interview - October 9, 2011 - Q. Is it necessary to tell everyone who interviews you at a company how your skills and accomplishments are a tight fit with the qualifications the company is trying to hire? It can get a little repetitive, don't you think? -- H.F.
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Charles Krauthammer
Return of the real, soak-the-rich, class warrior Obama - September 26, 2011 - In a 2008 debate, former ABC News broadcaster Charlie Gibson asked Barack Obama about his support for raising capital gains taxes, given the historical record of government losing net revenue as a result. Obama persevered: "Well, Charlie, what I've...
Dan McNeil
Stanley Cup finals or bust - October 6, 2011 - I'm giddy over hockey season's arrival. It's the most entertaining game to go see live.
Robert Pagliarini: Your Other 8 Hours
Seven deadly words you should never use - October 6, 2011 - Comedian George Carlin famously spoke about the "seven words you can never say on television," but the following seven seemingly innocuous words/phrases might be even worse. To say them is almost like dousing your goals, hopes and dreams with...
Kathleen Parker
Saving the world one finger at a time - September 30, 2011 - — Unless you are a National Public Radio loyalist, you may have missed a political drama unfolding far beneath the radar of human consciousness having to do with — OK, open your eyes — table saw safety.
Mark Pearlstein
Owners have right to inspect, copy minutes of meetings - October 7, 2011 - Q: I understand that a condominium owner must give a reason to see past minutes of meetings. Could you supply a good reason for me to see the treasurer's reports? I am concerned about contracts made by the association and our expenditures. I...
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Leonard Pitts
Bachmann's silence is golden - September 26, 2011 - Steven Miles and Arthur Caplan are my new heroes. They should be yours too — if you hold the radical opinion that facts matter.
Janet Portman
Social media can defuse tenant uprising - October 7, 2011 - Q: We're facing a bit of a public relations nightmare, the result of a few disgruntled tenants whipping up a frenzy about our apartment complex. They claim it's mismanaged, and have used Facebook pages and groups, blogs and countless tweets to...
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Dean Richards
Jackman says Sugar Ray was real deal for 'Steel' - October 7, 2011 - — He's the man of never-ending talents. Hugh Jackman has done dramatic roles with fellow Aussie Nicole Kidman. He's battled evildoers in films such as "X-Men," dazzled Broadway audiences with his singing and dancing skills and accepted...
Daneen Skube: Interpersonal Edge
Show you the money! - October 4, 2011 - Q. I want to get a raise but also realize these days I'm lucky to have a job. Are there rules about how to negotiate for a raise?
David Sobolewski
'We had bigger goals' - March 21, 2011 - Obviously, the Benet team and community had an extremely rough time with the unexpected end to the season.
Joe Trost's Corner Kicks
Soccer | Joe Trost's Corner Kicks: Downers Grove North, Willowbrook navigating rough roads - October 4, 2011 - In early August, there were few coaches more excited about the upcoming season than Downers Grove North's Brian Gervase.
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Mary Umberger
Fear paralyzing a flat market - October 7, 2011 - Housing's upper and lowest brackets may be making a bit of a comeback, but would-be buyers, in general, still feel paralyzed, unable to commit.
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Bob Weber
A flashing engine light? Get it checked — pronto - October 8, 2011 - Q: I am experiencing the check engine light coming on and sometimes blinking. The blinking seems to occur during city driving. I have had a readout at a parts store and it indicates misfiring. In the past I've had the plugs and plug wires...
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George Will
Question time for the Republicans - September 5, 2011 - WASHINGTON — Wednesday's Republican "debate" in California will not resemble the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates, in which one candidate spoke for 60 minutes, the other responded for 90 minutes, and his opponent had 30 minutes for rebuttal....