1. A Hunger Strike, Education, and Housing in Chicago

The “underutilization” of the city’s public schools derives from a long and ugly history. A former CPS teacher details it in The New Yorker.

2. Front-Row Seat

Theo Epstein thrives in crisis—and that’s where he found the Cubs. NBC Sports talks with the team’s president.

3. McRevolt: The Frustrating Life of the McDonald’s Franchisee

The struggles of the fast-food giant begin with the owners who make up its infrastructure. Bloomberg gets their take.

4. State Reinstates Funding for Disabled Infants; But Is It Too Little, Too Late?

What Illinois does for its most vulnerable, and what happens when it doesn’t. WUIS reports on the safety net.

5. Small Town, Big Secret?

Inside the Dennis Hastert scandal from Yorkville, the place where it all began. Chicago goes downstate.

6. Whatsoever Things Are True

Two different men were imprisoned, and released, for a double-murder that ended the death penalty in Illinois. What happened? The Atavist retells the tale.

7. A Tale of 3 Cities: LA and NYC Outpace Chicago in Curbing Violence

What are the nation’s two biggest cities doing that Chicago isn’t? Two reporters go on the road for the Tribune.

8. How Chicago Got Smart About Sensors

Why we’re building “the central nervous system of cities.” Backchannel goes inside the Array.

9. Cook County Homeowners Deserve Property Tax Relief

Over the past 30 years, the burden of tax revenues has shifted from businesses to houses—probably because of the opaque system of tax appeals. The Chicago Reporter follows the money.

10. So Michael Shannon Walks into a Diner…

He’s the best Chicago-bred actor of his generation. But he doesn’t want to be a movie star. Chicago sits down with the omnipresent stage and movie veteran.