1. How to Laugh in the #MeToo Era

What’s still funny? What’s creepy? A group of Chicago comedians figures it out. Chicago magazine hosts a roundtable.

2. Flawed Assessments Under Assessor Berrios Caused $2 Billion Shift in Chicago Property Taxes, Study Finds

One billion was shaved off the bills of the city’s most expensive residences and moved down the ladder. ProPublica Illinois runs the numbers.

3. How Alleged Minnesota Mosque Bomber Tried to Build Militia in Rural Illinois

From Clarence, Illinois, a town of fewer than 100, a former deputy sheriff tried to build a movement—but didn’t even get many locals to support him. The Star-Tribune visits the scene.

4. The Biggest Republican Megadonor You’ve Never Heard Of

Richard Uihelin, founder of the Uline business-supplies empire, has moved the Illinois Republican Party to the right with his millions, and now he’s going nationwide. Politico profiles him and his equally active wife, Elizabeth.

5. Strapped for Cash, Suburban Library Chooses Hiatus over Consolidation

Riverdale’s library shut its doors for two months, then its cops kept residents out of a library board meeting. It’s indicative of small suburbs that are losing population and struggling to fund services. The Better Government Association investigates.

6. Band of Bohemia Is Different

It’s a brewpub with a Michelin star, with a kitchen helmed by a former pro boxer who did stints at David Chang’s NYC restaurants and Blackbird in Chicago. Fooditor examines how it works.

7. Funky Town: Chicago Nightclubs in the 1970s—in Pictures

Michael Abrahamson started his career as a photojournalist during the funk era on the city’s South Side. The Guardian rounds up his shots.

8. Taming the Mighty Mississippi

The river is increasingly likely to flood downstate towns like Thebes. Are our efforts to stop it making it worse? The Washington Post explores the question.

9. When Groupon Ruled Chicago

For a time it was the coolest place in the city to work. It wasn’t built to last, but it got a lot of Chicagoans through the recession years. The Outline looks back.

10. Loyola Conquered Chicago’s Hoops Scene—and Has a Shot at the Sweet 16

The school made the tourney for the first time in over 30 years, and hopes to keep the city’s high-school talent at home. Chicago magazine explains how it happened.