Receive Updates from Steve Chapman
Steve Chapman is a columnist and editorial writer for the Chicago Tribune. His twice-a-week column on national and international affairs, distributed by Creators Syndicate, appears in some 60 papers across the country.
Steve Chapman came to the Tribune in 1981 from the New Republic magazine, where he was an associate editor. Steve Chapman has contributed articles to several national magazines, including Slate, The American Spectator, National Review and The Weekly Standard.
Born in Brady, Texas, in 1954, Steve Chapman grew up in Midland and Austin. Steve Chapman attended Harvard University, where he was on the staff of the Harvard Crimson. He graduated with honors in 1976 and later did graduate work at the University of Chicago.
Steve Chapman has three children and lives in suburban Chicago.
By Steve Chapman (May 05, 2011)
Here's what the world learned in the decade between the 9/11 attacks and the killing of their mastermind: Americans are good at war and not very good at remaking other... more
By Steve Chapman (May 01, 2011)
On Oct. 22, 1844, thousands of followers of American evangelist William Miller woke up expecting Jesus Christ to make his triumphant return that day, as they had been told.... more
By Steve Chapman (Apr 28, 2011)
It's often been said of Barack Obama that his policies are "data driven" -- meaning that whatever his ideological inclinations, he pays attention to dispassionate analysis of... more
By Steve Chapman (Apr 24, 2011)
Is it too early to declare our intervention in Libya a failure? More than a month after we started bombing, the insurgency has suffered a string of defeats. The government in... more
By Steve Chapman (Apr 21, 2011)
We all know that pornography is offensive and destructive, so we can guess that wherever X-rated fare gains popularity, social decay will follow. It may come as a surprise,... more
By Steve Chapman (Apr 17, 2011)
Opponents of President Barack Obama's health care program lost the legislative battle, but they have high hopes of stopping it yet. That could be accomplished by defeating... more
By Steve Chapman (Apr 14, 2011)
If you don't mind sweat, dirt or the smell of manure, this is a great time to be a farmer. Incomes are up, land values are high, and global demand is growing. Oh, and if... more
By Steve Chapman (Apr 10, 2011)
After the 2008 election, Barack Obama was pondering the growth of presidential power. So, ABC News reported, he met with former Secretaries of State James Baker and Warren... more
By Steve Chapman (Apr 07, 2011)
After House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan unveiled a plan to overhaul Medicare, Democrats announced that despite some imperfections, it was a brave and thoughtful... more
By Steve Chapman (Apr 03, 2011)
Remember when a crusading president, acting on dubious intelligence, insufficient information and exaggerated fears, took the nation into a Middle Eastern war of choice? That... more
By Steve Chapman (Mar 31, 2011)
"Experience is a dear teacher," said Benjamin Franklin, "but fools will learn at no other." Give some credit to fools: At least they eventually learn from experience. What... more
By Steve Chapman (Mar 27, 2011)
In 2008, Democratic voters had their pick of many candidates for president -- from Hillary Clinton to John Edwards to Joe Biden. Why did they choose Barack Obama?After all,... more
By Steve Chapman (Mar 24, 2011)
It's a good thing we didn't elect John McCain in 2008. A McCain victory would have meant an escalation in Afghanistan, a third war in the Middle East and a president sending... more
By Steve Chapman (Mar 20, 2011)
Just as congressional Republicans and the Obama administration had been pushing nuclear power, the disaster in Japan arrived to complicate matters. Proponents of atomic... more
By Steve Chapman (Mar 17, 2011)
March Madness is here, so for the next couple of weeks, you will not be able to turn on your TV without hearing about teams seizing momentum and players getting in the zone.... more
By Steve Chapman (Mar 13, 2011)
Newt Gingrich has a lot going for him if he decides to run for president -- a famous name, a record of accomplishment, a knack for raising money and a rhetorical flair that... more
By Steve Chapman (Mar 10, 2011)
The civil war in Libya was barely underway before some American politicians were insisting the United States crash the party. We have been fighting in Afghanistan for nine... more
By Steve Chapman (Mar 06, 2011)
Editor's Note: Steve Chapman is on vacation. The following column was originally published in October 2007.Here's how the American free enterprise system works. You have an... more
By Steve Chapman (Mar 03, 2011)
I am an American and a male, so you can easily guess the first thing I do when I arrive in a hotel room: pick up the TV remote and turn on ESPN. The second thing may not be... more
By Steve Chapman (Feb 27, 2011)
President Barack Obama has been denounced by Republicans for asserting federal power at the expense of state sovereignty. But last week, he was denounced by Republicans for... more
By Steve Chapman (Feb 24, 2011)
Public employees have been cramming the Wisconsin state Capitol to protest the governor's plan to cut their take-home pay and gut their collective bargaining rights. You... more
By Steve Chapman (Feb 20, 2011)
If you want to be on TV, don't go to Los Angeles or New York. Come to Chicago, where your wish is certain to be fulfilled. In fact, you couldn't avoid it if you wanted to,... more
By Steve Chapman (Feb 13, 2011)
Chicago has not had a Republican mayor since 1931, but it came close in 1983, when a state legislator named Bernard Epton attracted hordes of lifelong Democrats, only to fall... more
By Steve Chapman (Feb 10, 2011)
America doesn't feel much like the champion of the world these days. Everywhere we look, we see other countries outdoing us -- in economic growth, educational performance and... more
By Steve Chapman (Feb 06, 2011)
If you want proof that America is a conservative country, Ronald Reagan provides it. Once seen as a reactionary nincompoop, he's probably the most respected president of the... more
By Steve Chapman (Feb 03, 2011)
The individual mandate in President Barack Obama's health care reform was a lightning rod for criticism long before it became law. As far back as the 2008 campaign, the idea... more
By Steve Chapman (Jan 30, 2011)
You've had the experience of walking along and negotiating around someone who is walking slowly, weaving or bumping into other pedestrians for an obvious reason: He or she is... more
By Steve Chapman (Jan 27, 2011)
Spring is months away, but bipartisanship is blooming in Washington. Amid a terrible fiscal crisis, President Barack Obama and Republicans have come to a historic accord on... more
By Steve Chapman (Jan 23, 2011)
Several years ago, when my younger son was playing high school football, the players' dads would organize a team breakfast before Saturday home games. I remember one father... more
By Steve Chapman (Jan 20, 2011)
Critics have noted many flaws in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul: It's too expensive, too intrusive, too coercive and too complex. But one central defect that... more
By Steve Chapman (Jan 16, 2011)
If two foreigners come here illegally and bear a child, the child automatically gains American citizenship. That fact drives some people around the bend. Last year, Rep.... more
By Steve Chapman (Jan 13, 2011)
It has been a dismal decade for gun control advocates. They lost the federal so-called assault weapons ban when it expired in 2004. The Supreme Court made history by... more
By Steve Chapman (Jan 09, 2011)
Shortly after he was elected in 2008, Barack Obama expressed dissatisfaction at the way major college football determines a national champion -- in an antiquated, jerry-built... more
By Steve Chapman (Jan 06, 2011)
It's boxy, bland and relentlessly practical, but in an age of diminished wealth and high unemployment, maybe that combination doesn't sound so bad. Despite those qualities,... more