Illinois 'Basement' Comedy Club Shut Down After Viral Video

A comedy club in Illinois had a harsh sentence after a video went viral.

The club, called the 'Humboldt Jungle' in Humboldt Park, was an underground comedy and music club. The interior was designed like a jungle, covered in plants, and was operated by resident Nathan Weil out of his home.

The underground club had become popular, so much so that it attracted the attention of the Best Date Food page on Instagram, who posted this video of the place.

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According to NBC Chicago, within a week Humboldt Jungle's Insta following went from 7,200 to 22,000. The underground club got smacked with cease-and-desist letters from the city of Chicago and was forced to cancel the next two months of shows. Weil also got citations and fines from $2,000 to $5,000.

A lot of that is because of how authorities believe he ran the club. He's cited with:

selling tickets without an amusement license
failing to display an amusement license
offering, selling, serving, providing and/or storing liquor without the required license
selling or offering food without a required retail food establishment license

To go to the club, patrons would have to book a seat online for a $20.50 "donation". Weil said many musicians and comedians would use videos from the shows there to book bigger gigs but the club also brings in big names, like Jeff Garlin from "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and Matty Ryan (both of those shows have now been canceled).

Weil said that he also had fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, and exit signs. He thought that requesting donations instead of selling tickets wouldn't get him in trouble. But the city's not having that.

Weil is set to be in court on October 28th.