My year of eating

You want a list, I’ll write a damn list.

By Mike Sula

Looking on the bright side

As the teens turn to the twenties, it’s a struggle to find a little cheer in the gloom.

By Ben Joravsky

Safe bet, sucker deal

The Chicago casino is still in the works, but it's likely to end up raising far less money for the city than originally promised.

By Deanna Isaacs

To tell the truth: 2019 in theater

Four plays that recast history—collective and personal—with searing defiance.

By Kerry Reid and Catey Sullivan

No one is alone: the year in dance

The best moments in dance in 2019 focused on the power of community.

By Irene Hsiao

Nine places for laughs in 2019 (and beyond)

Because every year we seem to need more and more comedic relief.

By Brianna Wellen

Six visual art shows that made 2019 bearable

2020 has some big shoes to fill.

By S. Nicole Lane

Live lit is what Chicago is all about

The best reading events of 2019 have been going strong for years.

By Salem Collo-Julin

Ben Sachs’s top 12 films of 2019

Yes, there are some ties.

By Ben Sachs

Chicago’s best overlooked hip-hop of 2019

The shrinking of music media requires a new definition of “overlooked,” but even the strictest criteria admit a vast unexplored trove of riches.

By Leor Galil