Chicago Tribune Opinion

Letters to the editor submitted to The Courier-News.

As she waits for her sister's inevitable death from cancer, columnist Donna Vickroy grapples with how you head into a new year not with optimism but with sadness and grief.

There once was a time when a piano was a mainstay in many homes. These days, however, they've been replaced by electronic keyboards and anyone trying to sell an old family piano will have a tough time finding a buyer.

Suburban mom Paula Dettmann’s simple wish is to be home for Christmas after a spinal infection left her hospitalized six months ago.

Letters to the editor submitted to The Courier-News.

Chef Javier Reyes, a Joliet Junior College culinary instructor, not only mans the Naperville-based Butterball talk-line to address turkey prep questions, problems and emergencies, he'll be doing it live Thursday on "Good Morning, America."

Sometimes decking the tree a little early is the only way to create a bit of cheer when life problems and world issues start taking a toll.

Trish and Rick Knoll have discovered the great outdoors -- right in their back yard -- thanks to Forest Preserve District of Will County's Take It Outside Challenge.

While you may miss the creativity and the comaraderie of being in an office, few people miss the boring meetings, the daily grind or the structured schedule that comes with it, columnist Donna Vickroy says.

When the grandkids want to use their imaginations and have adventures, Oona and Papa forget their aching backs and sometimes unreliable muscles to join in the fun, columnist Donna Vickroy says.

It's been ingrained in us to be afraid of spiders -- and this is the time of year when that concept is reinforced in Halloween images -- but they play a big role in our ecosystem and need to be protected, not smashed.

House decorating, pumpkin-spiced foods and drinks, apple picking and cider are now all mandatory parts of fall, columnist Hilary Decent says.

Community Foundation of the Fox River Valley began in 1948 with a $5,000 fund. Since then it has provided more than $103 million in student scholarships for students and grants to local nonprofits, with assets worth over $120 million.

After both your parents have died, you realize you are now an "orphan" and the loss of those two people -- even as you became their caretaker -- has left a huge gap in your life, columnist Donna Vickroy says.

"The Golden Bachelor" might be fun fantasy TV, but columnist Hilary Decent thinks it might be more entertaining if the story was a little more realistic and set in Naperville.

Kids struggle with impulsivity, which can lead to them becoming a victim or a perpetrator of cyberbullying or sextortion and the parent who doesn't believe it will happen to their child is burying their head in the sand, experts say.

Lorrie Smietanski lost her beloved husband, Gary “Smitty” Smietanski, to ALS 30 years ago, and she's dedicated to raising money to help others who find themselves in the same plight and to finding a cure.

Jimmy Buffett loved the carefree beach and boating life he sang about but fun in the sun caught up with him when he died Sept. 1 from an agressive form of skin cancer.

A growing number of teachers either can't afford or are tired of paying for basic classroom supplies, which is forcing them to hold fundraising campaign or just grow tired of the drain and leave the profession.

Letters to the editor submitted to The Courier-News.

Thank goodness the generations going through college now are taking an interest in climate change and, more importantly, studying climate policies to make the changes we need to turn things around.

Pets shed -- something all animals owners know and have to learn to accept. But knowing when and why they shed can help, as can knowing how best to brush them.

Fascination with weather can be a springboard to helping children learn more about our environment.

Artificial intelligence is already here so how do we stop students from using it to plagiarize and machines from replacing people, columnist Hilary Decent asks?

You can bid farewell to the area’s population of ruby-throated hummingbirds at two events Saturday at the Cook County and Will County forest preserves.