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a tornado ripped through kankakee county tuesday night. aroma park got the worst of it. the tornado touched down around 6:20 p.m. near the kankakee airport, crossed the river into aroma park where damage was "extensive," then kept going into northwest indiana. a pickup truck was thrown through a detailing shop. 7,000-plus ComEd customers lost power. golf-ball to tennis-ball hail hit woodridge, downers grove, darien, and westmont. five-inch hailstones were reported near dwight and kankakee, though the weather service is still verifying those. chicago itself got flooding, smaller hail, and the kind of evening where you check your basement twice.

a couple threw liquid on kids leaving a mexican dance studio and threatened them with ICE. it went exactly as viral as you'd expect. friday night, kids were leaving ballet folklorico de chicago in avondale when a man and woman — who live in a neighboring building — started yelling, a man threw cups of liquid at the children from a balcony, and the woman told them they were 'you're lucky ICE is not here.' the video spread fast. police are investigating it as a hate incident. the community showed up to support the studio almost immediately, because that's what happens when you go after kids at dance class.

a U.S. citizen from skokie was detained at o'hare for nearly 30 hours. she was eventually taken to wisconsin. sundas 'sunny' naqvi, 28, a skokie resident and U.S. citizen, was stopped at o'hare with five coworkers by federal immigration agents. she was taken to a holding facility in broadview, then to wisconsin. elected officials held a press conference demanding answers. note: the department of homeland security has since disputed the 30-hour detention claim, saying she was in secondary screening for roughly an hour. her advocates say the agency's photos are doctored. the story is still developing. the details are still emerging, but the part where she is a citizen is not in dispute.

the dupage county undersheriff running for sheriff allegedly ran over a busboy on valentine's day. endorsements are evaporating. eddie moore, the dupage undersheriff and republican candidate for sheriff allegedly struck a busboy in a parking lot outside gibsons in oak brook after valentine's day dinner. surveillance video reportedly shows the collision. moore's wife allegedly wrote down a wrong phone number for the victim. moore left without calling police. the state's attorney rescinded his endorsement. the primary is march 17. this is not the campaign narrative anyone planned.

robbers invaded a home in winnetka and held the resident at gunpoint. winnetka. not a sentence you hear often, but here it is. robbers broke in over the weekend, held the resident at gunpoint, and left. winnetka police are investigating. the north shore's sense of suburban invincibility took a small but measurable hit.

the march 17 primary is next tuesday. early voting is open now. go vote before you forget and then feel bad about it. there are contested races for governor, U.S. senate, congress, dupage sheriff (see above), and a bunch of referendums. early voting is available at your local election authority. you do not need a reason. you just walk in. bring ID if you're registering same-day. the lines are short now and will not be short on march 17.

eat: nubar cafe opened in albany park. it's an all-day kurdish spot at 3200 w. lawrence. the shakshuka sandwich alone is worth the trip. no reservations, no pretense, just good food from a cuisine chicago doesn't have nearly enough of.

do: the wild mile walking tour is saturday at 11 a.m. free guided tour of chicago's floating eco-park on the north branch canal. boardwalks, native gardens, and a docent who actually knows what they're talking about. meet at the entrance behind the lincoln park REI. dress for 45 degrees and pretend you're outdoorsy.

avoid: anywhere near the river saturday. the st. patrick's day river dyeing is march 14, along with approximately 40 bar crawls in wrigleyville, the downtown parade, and every rideshare in the city being spoken for. if you are not participating, stay home or go south of roosevelt. you've been warned.

hey — if you’d like to put your business in front of the readers of this very email, reply with a little about what you do. small, weird, or local: we like all three.

maple syrup festival at river trail nature center in northbrook. sunday, march 15. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. free. watch real maple trees get tapped, do crafts, walk nearly two miles of wooded trails, and let your kids believe for a full afternoon that syrup comes from trees and not a bottle shaped like a woman from vermont. it's free, it's outdoors, and it's the kind of thing you'll be glad you did.

the sun-times ran a chickpea curry recipe this week that takes 30 minutes, uses one pot, and is better than it has any right to be. inspired by chana masala. coconut milk, chickpeas, tomatoes, spinach, curry powder. it's a weeknight dinner that makes you feel like you have your life together, even if the tornado just knocked out your power and your car has hail dents. pair it with rice or naan.

the sun-times and WBEZ published a deep look at the aspira charter school collapse — two high schools closing mid-year, 545 students scrambling, and CPS stuck in a legal quagmire it can't seem to exit. aspira sent layoff notices to 60 staff last week but still hasn't officially closed. its CEO says he's trying to keep the schools open through june. CPS says state law makes it hard to revoke a charter outright. the teachers union wants cohort transfers and familiar faces at receiving schools. aspira launched a crowdfunding campaign that has raised $2,000 of the millions it needs. meanwhile 545 kids on the northwest side are watching adults argue about contracts while their school year evaporates. it's an unprecedented situation for a CPS school to close before the end of a school year, and the piece lays out exactly how we got here.

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a tornado hit kankakee.

a couple threatened kids at a dance studio.

a citizen was detained at o'hare.

and the primary is in six days.

tips, corrections, your suburb's sheriff candidate hitting a busboy?

reply with your neighborhood and one thing that made you pause, squint, or text someone “???”

talk tuesday.

-sam