Good afternoon! My almost 2-year-old dog, Sassy, caught a huge rat in the alley and legit thought she could bring it into the apartment. Here’s what you need to know today.

1. What to watch as election results roll in tonight

Happy Election Day. As of noon, only about 12% of registered voters in Chicago had cast their ballot, according to the city’s election board.

While the presidential election is already set with a rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, there are down ballot races that could have a huge impact, especially for the Chicago-area’s progressive movement.

Among them is the Bring Chicago Home ballot measure, which asks voters whether to hike a tax on the sale of high-end properties to help combat homelessness. The measure is championed by progressives, including Mayor Brandon Johnson, and opposed by real estate and business interests.

And there’s the Cook County state’s attorney’s race that could determine the direction of local criminal justice reforms. Clayton Harris III, a public policy professor and former prosecutor, is running with the support of the county Democratic Party, while Eileen O’Neill Burke, a former prosecutor and Illinois appellate judge, has led Harris in fundraising.

Click the link to find a sample ballot and more information about the candidates hoping to win today’s primary election. [Chicago Sun-Times]

2. Lead-tainted water is a threat to two-thirds of young children in Chicago

Two out of three very young children in Chicago were exposed to at least trace amounts of lead in their home tap water, according to a new study from researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Stanford University School of Medicine.

“These findings indicate that childhood lead exposure is widespread in Chicago,” the researchers wrote.

The study used artificial intelligence to estimate the extent of childhood lead exposure. Researchers believe the rate may be even higher for young children in Black and Latino communities.

The news highlights the need for City Hall to speed up replacements of brain-damaging lead pipes, my colleague Brett Chase reports. Despite billions of dollars in federal resources to swap out lead lines, Chicago has struggled to pay for the replacements. [Chicago Sun-Times]

3. A transgender migrant woman was shot outside a Chicago nightclub

The woman was waiting for a ride outside VLive, a club she described as a meeting ground for new arrivals from Venezuela, before a gunman pulled up in a vehicle and shot her three times last month, authorities say.

The gunman, believed to be a 29-year-old Venezuelan man who was linked to a drug cartel by federal authorities, allegedly said “bad gay” before firing, police say.

Investigators have recovered key evidence, but Cook County prosecutors have not charged the suspect, my colleague Tom Schuba reports. Police say they hit a setback when a witness stopped cooperating with authorities.

Baltazar Enriquez, an organizer in Little Village, said community members have been left with lingering questions after similar cases of gun violence have seemingly fallen apart.

“Do we blame the police department or do we blame the state’s attorney?” Enriquez asked. [Chicago Sun-Times]

4. A Frank Lloyd Wright home in Kankakee hits market for nearly $800,000

The Warren Hickox House, which sits about an hour south of Chicago, was recently listed for $779,000 through @properties agent Victoria Krause Schutte, my colleague Violet Miller reports.

“It’s a living, breathing piece of art,” Schutte said. “You walk into the home and you feel like you’re in a special place. … You just feel good there.”

The privately owned cream and red home, built at the turn of the 20th century and last sold in 1976, was designed during a “turning point” for Wright as he started moving toward the Prairie style, Schutte said.

The architect would often bring Chicago-area clients down to the home and seat them in the reading nook’s facing built-in benches to help them visualize the new direction his work was taking. [Chicago Sun-Times]

5. SZA, Blink-182, The Killers and Stray Kids are headlining this summer’s Lollapalooza

The music festival will take place Aug. 1-4 in Grant Park, featuring more than 170 performers across eight stages, my colleague Miriam Di Nunzio reports.

Other headliners include Future X Metro Boomin, Hozier, Melanie Martinez, Skrillex and Tyler, the Creator.

Tickets will be available to purchase on March 21 at lollapalooza.com. On that day, a ticket pre-sale runs from 10 a.m. to noon and guarantees the lowest price on 4-day general admission, GA+, VIP and platinum tickets.

Prices will go up with general sale starting at noon the same day. Kids eight and under get in free with a ticketed adult. [Chicago Sun-Times]

Speaking of summer music festivals, Pitchfork announced more VIP tiers that promise shorter bathroom lines, more food options, the best sightlines and access to the stage. Some fans are not happy about this trend in the concert industry. [WBEZ]

Here’s what else is happening

• Drone footage raises critical questions about an Israeli strike on journalists in Gaza. [Washington Post]

• Apple and Google are reportedly in talks to bring generative A.I. to iPhones. [New York Times]

• Getty Images said another photo involving Catherine, Princess of Wales was digitally manipulated. [CNN]

• Street artist Banksy confirmed he is behind a new tree mural in north London. [NPR]

Oh, and one more thing …

I love figure skating. And I also love people who don’t conform and bow down to dumb rules.

So allow me to introduce you to Amber Glenn, a queer figure skater who won the U.S. Figure Skating Championships this year.

As The Washington Post reports, Glenn has been bucking the notion that figure skaters should be “ice princesses” and embracing the “beauty of ‘screw it.’ ”

“I wish I knew what I know now and could tell my younger self and give myself that grace that I am trying to give myself now,” Glenn told the newspaper. [Washington Post]

Tell me something good …

What’s something you’re excited to do this spring? (If you can’t think of anything, my colleague Courtney Kueppers put together this guide of noteworthy events going down this season.)

If you haven’t seen it yet, this year’s orchid show at the Chicago Botanic Garden is amazing. It’s circus-themed and features orchids on unicycles over tightropes, in a popcorn machine and on mixed-up carousel animals.

Feel free to email me, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.