John Kass
John Kass has covered a variety of topics since arriving at the Chicago Tribune in 1983.
The son of a Greek immigrant grocer, Kass was born June 23, 1956, on Chicago’s South Side and grew up there and in Oak Lawn. He held a number of jobs — merchant marine sailor, ditch digger, waiter — before becoming a film student at Columbia College in Chicago. There, he worked at the student newspaper and caught the attention of Daryle Feldmeir, chairman of the journalism department and former editor of the Chicago Daily News.
Feldmeir and journalism professor Les Brownlee helped him obtain an internship at the Daily Calumet in 1980, where Kass worked as a reporter until he left for the Tribune.
In 2004, Kass was awarded the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi national award for general column writing, the Scripps Howard Foundation’s National Journalism Award for commentary, the Press Club of Atlantic City’s National Headliner Award for local interest column writing on a variety of subjects, and the Chicago Headline Club’s Lisagor Award for best daily newspaper columnist.
In 1992, Kass won the Chicago Tribune’s Beck Award for writing.
Kass lives in the western suburbs with his wife and twin sons. His column appears on Page A2 of the Chicago Tribune every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
Recent Work
In just a few weeks, millions of people from around the world will be weeping, screaming, pulling out their hair... Read More
In just a few weeks, millions of people from around the world will be weeping, screaming, pulling out their hair and issuing piteous cries of rage and grief while eating ice cream on the couch. Because in just a few weeks, HBO's series "Game of Thrones,"... Read More
The funeral of former President George H.W. Bush was a great celebration of a noble American patriot. There were ... Read More
The funeral of former President George H.W. Bush was a great celebration of a noble American patriot. There were the tears of his son that I won't forget. And there was the respect shown to him by his nation. Read More
If there is one thing worse than that photograph of a little Honduran boy breathing through an oxygen mask after ... Read More
If there is one thing worse than that photograph of a little Honduran boy breathing through an oxygen mask after being hit with tear gas on our Southern border, it's this: Using that image as a sentimental weapon to fend... Read More
That a grandstanding show pony like CNN's Jim Acosta would be transformed by President Donald Trump into a First Amendment ... Read More
That a grandstanding show pony like CNN's Jim Acosta would be transformed by President Donald Trump into a First Amendment crusader knight is perhaps a sad but fitting comment on our age. Acosta is back at work... Read More
After the midterm elections, Americans were still trying to see past the political spin to the serious implications of it ... Read More
After the midterm elections, Americans were still trying to see past the political spin to the serious implications of it all. Did the Democrats win a short-term victory by taking the House and, with it, subpoena power allowing... Read More
When Kanye West condemned a Republican president after Hurricane Katrina smashed New Orleans, Democrats and their media biscuit eaters weren't ... Read More
When Kanye West condemned a Republican president after Hurricane Katrina smashed New Orleans, Democrats and their media biscuit eaters weren't all that upset. Many were overjoyed that West, the megastar from... Read More
Future historians probably won't devote entire volumes to Hollywood actor Matt Damon for his part in the grotesque savaging of ... Read More
Future historians probably won't devote entire volumes to Hollywood actor Matt Damon for his part in the grotesque savaging of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Sadly, Damon will most likely be just a footnote, some jester in... Read More
It is tempting to watch the political spectacle of Democrats destroying Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as if it were ... Read More
It is tempting to watch the political spectacle of Democrats destroying Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as if it were only some shameful partisan circus. Read More
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters and former President Barack Obama are out making stump speeches, rallying the Democratic base for ... Read More
U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters and former President Barack Obama are out making stump speeches, rallying the Democratic base for the critical midterm elections in November in the hopes of crippling President Donald Trump by taking control of Congress. Read More
In The News
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NEW YORK — New prosecution witnesses at former President Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial Friday further undercut the former... Read More
NEW YORK — New prosecution witnesses at former President Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial Friday further undercut the former president’s denials about paying hush money to a former porn star and then falsifying records to cover up their sexual... Read More
LANSING, Mich. — The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the state of Michigan $159 million in bipartisan infrastructure law funding... Read More
LANSING, Mich. — The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the state of Michigan $159 million in bipartisan infrastructure law funding to help lower the cost of community and rooftop solar installations for thousands of low-income households. In announcing receipt of... Read More
WASHINGTON — It’s back to the future for the nation’s internet service providers, as net neutrality makes a comeback thanks... Read More
WASHINGTON — It’s back to the future for the nation’s internet service providers, as net neutrality makes a comeback thanks to a 3-2 vote Thursday by the Federal Communications Commission. The “new” rules governing net neutrality are largely the same... Read More
NEW YORK (AP) — This spring, NBC News, The New York Times and National Public Radio have each dealt with... Read More
NEW YORK (AP) — This spring, NBC News, The New York Times and National Public Radio have each dealt with turmoil for essentially the same reason: journalists taking the critical gaze they deploy to cover the world and turning it... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans’ majority could tighten by another vote after Tuesday’s special congressional election in Buffalo — at least, temporarily.... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans’ majority could tighten by another vote after Tuesday’s special congressional election in Buffalo — at least, temporarily. Voters are choosing a replacement for Democrat Brian Higgins, a longtime House member who cited the “slow and frustrating” pace... Read More
Poultry producers will be required to bring salmonella bacteria in certain chicken products to very low levels to help prevent food poisoning... Read More
Poultry producers will be required to bring salmonella bacteria in certain chicken products to very low levels to help prevent food poisoning under a final rule issued Friday by U.S. agriculture officials. When the regulation takes effect in 2025, salmonella will be... Read More
