This week, we're counting down the top 9 stories of 2009 according to the Chicagoist staff. more ›

At first we wondered how a bus-full of rowdy Hideout regulars -- musicians, employees, and employees -- would be greeted by a city like D.C. We pictured streams of lobbyists and grumpy Republicans growling with disdain at a ragtag group dressed up in their finest duds of proms long past. more ›