Portillo's, Pipeline Explosion and More: March 2012 Month in Review

The weather continued its incredible run in March, but not all of the news was good. With a fatal car accident, a gun threat and a malpractice suit, it was a busy month. I recap some of the top stories from March 2012.

Pipeline Explosion: Tragedy hit New Lenox early in the month when two  drove through a fence and hit an Enbridge oil pipeline, causing an explosion that killed Bart Lenz, 21, and Zach Orel, 25, both of New Lenox.

Decision 2012: The March 20 primaries didn't yield many surprises, but it set up some interesting battles for November's General Election. Read our recap of all the races and results. 

Top Dog: Our Facebook fans went wild over the news that . The restaurant has an aggressive schedule, too, with the hope of opening in September 2012. 

Gun Threat: was crawling with cops this month after an anonymous person called 911 and . No guns or suspicious people were found, and everyone was safe. 

Malpractice Suit: A New Lenox family , saying the staff didn't do enough to prevent their son's suicide while he was staying in the psychiatric ward. 

Editor's Picks

It wasn't all bad news this month. Take a look at a couple good stories from March.

Irish Dance: Three students from the  in New Lenox recently qualified for the Irish Dancing World Championships. They join 37 other dancers from across the U.S. for the annual event, which is held in Belfast, Ireland.  

St. Baldrick's: I got to participate in the fight against childhood cancer when I joined . It was a great experience that raised about $50,000, and if you have any photos from the event you can still share them here.