One person was killed and two others critically wounded in a shooting Friday night on the Eisenhower Expressway near Ashland.
The shooting happened about 9:30 p.m. on I-290 near Ashland Avenue, according to Illinois State Police.
Three people were struck by gunfire, one fatally, state police said. The other two people were transported to area hospitals in critical condition.
Lanes were closed eastbound to Damen Avenue, state police said.
A vehicle involved in the shooting was stopped outside Rush Hospital with about a dozen bullet holes in the windshield. The driver-side window was shot out and a large bullet hole could be seen on the passenger side.
State police have not released any additional information on the shooting.
This is a developing story. Check back for details.
A 14-year-old was shot and wounded during an altercation Friday evening in Bronzeville on the South Side.
Just after 7 p.m., the girl was walking in the 3000 block of South State Street when she got in an argument with someone who then fired shots, striking her in the shoulder and wrist, Chicago police said.
She was transported to Comer’s Children’s Hospital in good condition, police said.
Ella French was 8 months old, wearing a “serious and solemn face,” when Elizabeth French, who would take her in first as a foster child and later adopt her, met her.
“And I tell people I must have passed a test because, all of a sudden, this huge, gigantic smile appeared on her face. After that, I was in constant prayer that she would be able to stay with me.”
Elizabeth French became the little girl’s foster mom. Then, finally, she was able to adopt her four years later.
Becoming Ella French’s mother, she said, will always be one of the proudest moments of her life.
And, like any parent, she never thought she’d be making arrangements, as she was Friday, to lay her daughter to rest before she even turned 30.
“No parent should ever bury their child,” Elizabeth French said through tears. “But my daughter wanted to make a difference. She believed in her job. It breaks my heart, but she died doing what she was called to do. And now she’s in God’s hands.
“I wake up every morning, and I start crying because my day doesn’t have my daughter anymore. The few times I’ve turned on the TV, it distresses me to see her picture and her name with the word ‘Killed.’ It’s just so hard.”
That’s not how she wants people to remember her daughter. She wants them to know who Ella French was, beyond being a cop who got killed. What she was like. What she aspired to do and to be.
She was a bubbly kid. She loved Dr. Seuss books and watching “Barney,” but, even more, she loved everything about Tigger, the character from “Winnie the Pooh.”
“It always made sense to me because, of all of the characters, he was the most bouncy, outgoing and fun, and that is who she is,” said Elizabeth French, a single mother who also has an adopted son Andrew.
Officer Ella French.Chicago Police Department
Sometimes, all of that bouncing around would end up in a trip to the emergency room, her mom said. She broke one bone or another three times before she started kindergarten.
As she got a little older, Ella French was an altar server for their Catholic parish for a few years. In junior high school, she picked up her love of playing softball and basketball and played the flute.
She started at Downers Grove North High School but soon was sent by her mother, who said she thought she needed more structure, to Wentworth Military Academy and College in Lexington, Missouri. She spent two years at the since-closed military school before transferring back to Downers Grove North, from which she graduated in 2009.
The time at Wentworth was formative, according to Elizabeth French, who said she came home wanting to become a cop.
Though she’d struggled at times with schoolwork, Ella French was dedicated to doing what she needed to do to become a Chicago police officer.
Ella French with her two Bichon Frise dogs — Sonny (left) and Boz — while she lived at home with her mother Elizabeth French before joining the Chicago Police Department. She referred to the dogs as “her brothers.”Rich Hein / Sun-Times
Until she could do that, she worked at a nutrition store and then at a cellphone store, in each job pointing customers only to items she believed in, her mother said.
“She never wanted to sell anything that she didn’t 100% trust in,” Elizabeth French said. “Even in small things like that, it shows how she wanted to only do good for people.”
In 2017, she got the chance to work as a Cook County sheriff’s correctional officer, a job she had for more than a year before joining the Chicago Police Department.
“Cook County was an interesting experience for her, and I think that it taught her that there are a lot that goes into people,” Elizabeth French said. “I think it deepened her empathy. Whatever it was that they did to end up in jail, she saw them first and foremost as people who deserved respect. Ella could put herself in other people’s places, and maybe she felt that way because she thought her life could’ve been different if it weren’t for being adopted.”
Ella French started with the Chicago Police Department in 2018, working in the 10th District on the West Side before moving to the department’s Community Safety Team — a unit designed to forge stronger ties with people on the South Side and the West Side.
Ella French at 7 with her mother Elizabeth French and brother Andrew, 13, in September 1998.Provided
Charles McKenzie, who encountered Ella French on the job, said they spoke for nearly two hours then about how his organization, Englewood First Responders, is trying to help keep kids from getting caught up in violence.
“She just kept telling us to keep up the good work,” McKenzie said. “Man, she was just a great officer and someone willing to actually sit and talk and get to know people in the community. We really need people like her in this community. You could tell she really wanted to do good and be a real force for change.”
McKenzie saw French once more — when she was sitting inside an ambulance, trying to help save his 1-month-old niece.
“I was out doing some shopping for this peace event we were holding when I got a phone call that multiple shots rang out in Englewood, and they were telling me it was my niece who was shot,” McKenzie said. “Then, I learned there was this woman officer who was helping save her and helping calm my sister down as they raced to the hospital. It turned out to be Officer French.”
That was July 1. Three people got out of an SUV and started shooting at a group. They ended up wounding seven people, including McKenzie’s baby niece, who was shot in the head and now recovering.
“She kept telling my sister everything was going to be all right, that she wasn’t going to leave their side until the baby was OK,” McKenzie said. “My sister and our family are so appreciative of what she did. We are saddened we never got the chance to thank her.”
A police spokesman confirmed French aided the family in the aftermath of the shooting.
“She told me about it after it happened,” Elizabeth French said. “It was all about getting that baby to the hospital as quickly as she could, and it broke her heart to see what had just happened.
“Her stepping up and doing what she did did not shock me.”
Leo Vega and Officer Ella French in the West Loop two years ago.Provided
Leo Vega is someone else who met French only briefly but said he can’t forget her.
“One of my best friends was feeling down, so we went to the West Loop to have a couple drinks,” Vega said. “We were walking down the street, and she was patrolling the community with her partner. When I crossed the street, she just said, ‘I love your sweater.’ “
Vega has his own clothing brand, “Chi Loves Me,” and that was the message emblazoned across his sweater that caught French’s eye.
“She was just so enthusiastic,” Vega said. “She kept telling me she loved our city, and it was the main reason she became a police officer — to inspire change.
He said that when he heard that French had been killed, he didn’t put it together at first that this was the woman he met two years ago.
“I just couldn’t shake the feeling that I met her before, and I looked through my favorite photos in my phone and saw her,” Vega said. “There we were, with the Morgan Street train stop behind us, and I zoomed in to her name tag. It said French. It was her.
“I keep flashing back to that encounter with her and how passionate she seemed. This city was robbed of a great person.”
Family photos of a young Ella French.Provided
Elizabeth French got the call that her daughter had been shot sometime after 9 at night. She was home, and it was one of her daughter’s closest friends, a fellow police officer.
“The first words out of her mouth were, ‘Ella has been shot, and she’s in critical condition,'” Elizabeth French said. “I don’t know if I have words for that, how I felt inside. I don’t know if I have words for this feeling.”
A police cruiser came to take her to the hospital.
She remembers that she kept asking the officer who picked her up if he’d gotten any update and that he’d tell her the same thing each time: “She’s been shot and in critical condition.”
When she got to the hospital, she said, she couldn’t believe any of this was happening.
Then, a doctor approached.
“After the words, ‘We tried everything we could,’ I don’t remember much,” she said. “I’m sure he said words after that. But after that, there is nothing that can be said.”
Since then, Elizabeth French said she has gotten an amazing outpouring of support from other Chicago police officers and from people all around the country.
“I need to thank them from the bottom of my heart because every single word, every single message, every single text, every single hug, every single whatever it is means more than they will ever, ever know,” she said. “I want them to know that my family is so grateful.”
Earlier, she had made the funeral arrangements. Visitation will be from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday at St. Rita of Cascia Church, 7740 S. Western Ave., with a service there at 10 a.m. Thursday.
There’s a photo she has of her daughter, in uniform, holding a dog she rescued and ended up taking home and keeping. In the photo, Ella French looks completely happy.
It’s her mother’s favorite photo of her, “this kind, outgoing, effervescent spirit who was called to serve because she wanted to make whatever part of world better if she could.”
Officer Ella French with a dog she rescued as an unattended puppy and ended up keeping. Her mother Elizabeth French said this is her favorite photo of her daughter.Provided
Right-hander Adbert Alzolay left Friday’s game against the Marlins with an apparent leg injury. Something appeared to be wrong with Alzolay as he threw a pitch to the plate and reached for his left leg and immediately called for medical attention.
After a quick conversation with head athletic trainer PJ Mainville and manager David Ross, Alzolay was removed from the game.
Something appeared to be wrong with Alzolay when the inning started as he allowed the first six batters of the inning to reach base, including a grand slam by Bryan De La Cruz, to give Miami a 5-4 lead.
The injury likely came in the top of the second inning as Alzolay was running the bases. The Cubs’ right-hander doubled to lead-off the inning and was on the bases for an extended period of time before coming out to pitch again.
Things didn’t get better after Alzolay’s injury as right-hander Dan Winkler couldn’t stop the bleeding, allowing a whopping seven runs in the inning. The Marlins sent 15 batters to the plate in the second inning, scoring 11 runs on eight hits including two home runs (one grand slam). The 11-run second inning was the most runs scored in an inning against the Cubs this season. It was also the second day in a row the Cubs allowed two double digit innings.
Miami added two more runs in the third inning on a Jesus Aguilar two-run shot.
After struggling against Brewers pitching at Wrigley Field, the Cubs offense got to work early in Friday’s game against the Marlins and came out on the attack against starter Jesus Luzardo.
Second baseman kicked things off for the Cubs in the first inning as he launched a long two-run shot to give the Cubs an early 2-0 lead. The 423-foot blast was just Bote’s second long ball since coming off the injured list.
The Cubs added two more runs in the second inning on an RBI-triple by center fielder Johneshwy Fargas and sacrifice fly by Sergio Alcantara that at the time made it a 4-1 Cubs lead before the disastrous second inning.
He said it
Ross on the team’s rough stretch: “My mindset is like we’ve got to get better. I think that’s the main thing. Continue to compete. We’ve had two really good teams come in here in a moment where we’re not at our strongest and so it hadn’t looked good. Not a great homestand, but the teams we’ve played are really talented. We’ve been in some of those games and we haven’t been in a couple of them. But what I would say is that nobody likes losing.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed into a law a bill that bars hair discrimination in schools, saying it will help ensure that students statewide feel “comfortable and confident in their own skin.”
But the mother whose son was an inspiration for the law — a 4-year-old Black child who was told his braids were a violation of school dress codes — said the moment “is bigger than just hair.”
“Our hair is an extension of who we are as a race and is deeply connected with our cultural identity,” said Ida Nelson, who had a front row seat at the bill signing, holding son Gus “Jett” Hawkins in her lap.
“This is one huge step towards improving the mental health outcomes for our children, as it ensures that they will be in healthier learning environments,” she said.
The governor signed the bill at Uplift Community High School, saying the new law will allow students to “embrace the power of their heritage rather than compromise their identities.”
Gov. J.B. Pritzker gives a thumbs up as he signs the Jett Hawkins Act beside Jett Hawkins and his mom Ida Nelson at Uplift Community High School in the Uptown neighborhood on Friday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
“For so many people, how you dress and how you look is an expression of who you are,” Pritzker said. “For others, the choice is as simple as deciding what makes them the most comfortable and confident in their own skin.
“That should be the beginning and the end of the conversation. … Nobody should be made to feel less than for how they express themselves, let alone miss out on school days, dances and after-school sports are how they style their hair.”
Ida Nelson characterized the Jett Hawkins Act as an important first step.
“The work must continue to proactively create safe spaces in schools where children of color are accepted completely and also in the workplace,” she said.
Jett Hawkins holds the bill that was just signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker at Uplift Community High School in the Uptown neighborhood on Friday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Nelson said it’s time for similar laws to be enacted nationwide because “our hair, our blackness, our existence deserves to be celebrated — not just tolerated.”
The new law would ensure the state’s schools don’t apply their school uniform or other dress code policies to hairstyles, “including hairstyles historically associated with race, ethnicity, or hair texture, including, but not limited to, protective hairstyles such as braids, locks, and twists.”
Under the law, which takes effect Jan. 1, the Illinois State Board of Education will be directed to produce educational resources about protective and natural hairstyles and host them on their website.
State Sen. Mike Simmons, sponsor of the Jett Hawkins Act, speaks before Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs the bill on Friday.Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
State Sen. Mike Simmons, D-Chicago, read about Jett’s story and the stories of other children who were barred from wearing their hair in braids or other natural styles and sponsored the legislation in part because “we can’t paper over such stinging injustices any longer.”
“I know from my own childhood what it’s like to be regularly belittled, humiliated isolated and shamed by adults in the school setting, and it’s something that we can no longer accept in Illinois,” said Simmons, who wears his hair in free-form locs.
“Black youth have been targeted and mistreated for far too long for expressing and honoring their heritage and their culture. We cannot be holding our youth to spoken, and unspoken standards, about how you’re supposed to sound act and, in this case, look.”
An 18-year-old man was fatally shot Friday evening in Belmont Cragin on the Northwest Side.
About 5:15 p.m., the teen was in the middle of the street in the 5100 block of West Fullerton Avenue when someone in a vehicle fired shots, striking him in the leg, chest and back, Chicago police said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. He has not yet been identified.
Dick Farrel, a right-wing radio talker in Florida, had nothing but bad things to say about Dr. Anthony Fauci and COVID-19 vaccines.
Fauci, he said, was “a lying freak.” COVID-19 was a “scamdemic.” And he said he would never get vaccinated.
“Why take a vax promoted by people who lied 2u all along about masks?” he asked on Facebook.
Then Farrel caught the bug, found himself fighting for his life and changed his tune.
“Get it!” he texted to a friend who was hesitant to get the vaccine. “I wish I had gotten it!”
And then, on Aug. 4, died.
Done in by the “scamdemic.”
The news is full of reports this summer about people like Farrel who mocked public health experts and science, masks and vaccines, and were rewarded with death from COVID-19. They often hung in there just long enough to regret their foolishness.
Nobody should take satisfaction in this. Every death from COVID is a tragic death, regardless of the circumstances. But we’ve been thinking long and hard of late about what it will take to persuade the seemingly inconvincible to get the vaccine, and we’re pretty sure it won’t be another lecture by Fauci or President Joe Biden or the World Health Organization or this editorial page.
Those still in need of convincing don’t much listen to any of the above.
It will take leadership from the political right itself, which remains in short supply. And it might help as well to call attention to all the anti-vaxxers, especially the militant ones like Farrel, who have been dropping all around us. Death has a way of ending denial.
Promoted ‘mask burning’
In the same week Farrel died of COVID, a prominent Texas Republican who ridiculed the vaccines died of the virus.
H. Scott Apley, a member of the Dickinson City Council and Texas Republican Executive Committee, compared mask mandates to Nazism and encouraged his followers on social media to attend a “mask burning” at a bar.
Five days before his death, Apley posted online this mocking assessment of the vaccines: “In 6 months, we’ve gone from the vax ending the pandemic, to you can still get Covid even if vaxxed, to you can pass Covid onto others even if vaxxed, to you can still die of Covid even if vaxxed, to the unvaxxed are killing the vaxxed.”
That’s a lot of hooey, of course, and it’s unfortunate for Apley that he apparently believed it. The various vaccines remain powerful defenses against COVID-19 and its known variants. The vast majority of people who have been vaccinated don’t become infected, and those who do typically suffer minor symptoms, don’t need to be hospitalized and — best of all — don’t die.
Died in misery
A particular heartbreaking case is that of Michael Freedy, a 39-year-old father of two from Las Vegas who didn’t push the anti-vaxx nonsense. He just made the mistake of listening to those who do. Worried about the vaccine’s side effects, which are in fact negligible and temporary, he had decided to put off getting the shot for a year.
Freedy caught COVID-19 while on vacation in San Diego in mid-July. Two weeks later, on July 29, he died. But not before going through all kinds of misery involving tubes, lung machines and defibrillator paddles.
“When you’re a spectator in it, there’s no trying to slide out the door,” his fiance, Jessica DuPreez, told the Washington Post. “You just have to stay in the back of the room and out of the way.”
In a text to DuPreez early in his illness, Freedy had this to say: “I should have gotten the damn vaccine.”
A message from morgues
There are many more such cases, if only the tens of millions of Americans who remain unvaccinated would take heed. The message comes from folks like themselves, vaccine skeptics, from hospital beds and morgues.
Infection rates are climbing again, largely among the unvaccinated, and people are dying again. Daily caseloads have increased tenfold nationwide since late June, as the Delta variant of the virus sweeps the country, and death reports have doubled.
Southern states, many with vaccination rates well below the national average, have seen the most explosive case growth, reports the New York Times. Mississippi, which was adding fewer than 200 cases a day at the start of July, is now averaging more than 2,000 infections daily.
Even as radio talkers call mandatory masks “face diapers.” Even as they call vaccine passports an assault on their liberties. Even as they mock door-to-door vaccination campaigns.
We urge Americans who have yet to get vaccinated to listen instead to the voices from the grave.
On May 1, Curt Carpenter, an unvaccinated young man from Alabama, died from COVID-19. He succumbed after a two-month fight.
His mother says she’ll never forget his last words: “This is not a hoax. This is real.”
I know how hard it is to find the right fit or comfort level when it comes to athletic shoes. Whether you’re looking for a running shoe or hiking, or just walking, it’s important to find one that will last you awhile and that will be comfortable. There are probably hundreds of running shoe stores in Chicago, so I’ve narrowed it down to 8 of the best ones. There are some obvious ones like Nike and Famous Footwear but also some community driven ones that have an impressive selection.
At Fleet Feet, you will find a welcoming environment where runners, walkers and fitness enthusiasts of all abilities receive unparalleled service and support. The mission of this running shoe store in Chicago is to help you find the right ”FIT” in every facet of your active lifestyle. Whether you walk, run, or simply need a good fitting pair of shoes, the educators at Fleet Feet will work with you to evaluate your foot’s gait and natural biomechanics to help you select a shoe that offers the best fit and function for you.
I don’t think I really need to go into detail about Nike. We all know and love this brand and it’s clear that they dominate the athletic shoe market. This sport shoes store in Chicago offers any kind of product for any sporting occasion. So whether you’re a runner, walker, cyclist, or just want a trendy pair of high tops, Nike is the place to go.
Running Excels serves the south side of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs. It is a specialty running store that features high quality athletic footwear, apparel and accessories. They also can share their knowledge of running, through education on injury prevention and recovery, proper training, nutrition, etc.
Famous Footwear, like Nike, is another running shoe store in Chicago that has dominated the market. They have shoes for any occasion, not just sports. They carry brands like Adidas, Nike, Converse, Crocs, Birkenstock, Vans, etc. So if you’re looking for a place where you can shop for athletic shoes but also everyday shoes, this is the place.
Commonwealth isn’t exactly in Chicago, but if you live in or around the city, you’ll know Evanston. Commonwealth Running Company is a community-first running company that will take what local running stores do best and utilize technology to enhance that experience by offering everything a runner needs in a seamless and comprehensive way. Founded by a distance runner from Chicago, this grassroots running company will look to outfit and supply runners with gear that enhances their running experience, and in doing so, will look to grow the sport and expand a market.
Just like the previous store, this one is in Evanston. I’m not too familiar with this store but it has a ton of great reviews on Yelp. They seem to carry a lot of running shoes as well and brands like Asics, New Balance and Mizuno.
At Road Runner Sports you can try, touch, feel and test out a huge selection of running, cross training, trail and gym gear. They’ve got 116 brands and countless colors and sizes of running shoes, electronics, and fitness apparel. You can choose from brands like Adidas, Altra, ASICS, Brooks, HOKA ONE ONE, Merell, Mizuno, New Balance, Nike, OluKai, On, Reebok, Salomon, Saucony, and Under Armour. They also stock some newer brands like Hyperrice, Goodr Sunglasses, On, and R-Gear. They’ve got everything you need for running, training, everyday activity, trail, hiking, and even kid’s shoes.
Alamo Shoes has been a family-owned shoe store providing family-focused superior service since 1973. In those years, Alamo Shoes has thrived on providing personalized service for Northsiders, Southsiders, suburbanites, people from across the country and the globe. It is a staple of Chicago’s north side Andersonville neighborhood. They carry all the popular brands and even ones that are just starting to gain popularity.
At a time we should be united in our grief over the murder of Ella French, 29, a Chicago police officer, people are dishing dirt.
It’s disgusting to hear aldermen attacking each other and to read snarky tweets bashing police Supt. David Brown, knowing he is grieving his own mother’s death.
The public display of disrespect by the police officers who turned their backs on the mayor added even more distance to the gap between the Chicago Police Department and too many of our youth.
And right now no one should be fanning the flames of the contentious debate over “defunding” the police or pointing to rogue police officers to support an anti-police narrative.
In these dark days, what the world should see now is our empathy. Empathy for the families of the many children who have been fallen by gunfire. Empathy for the youth in this city who have lost their way. Empathy for police officers who lost a colleague who wanted to do good but was gunned down by a man who appears to have no good left in him.
Whether we are criticizing the officers or condemning the people committing these crimes, too many of us are so busy judging the group by the sins of the individuals, so much so that we neglect to appreciate the people who do the right thing.
Despite all of this, two things give me hope.
People living near 63rd and Bell, where the police shootings took place, put their own lives on the line when they confronted one of the suspects who had jumped a fence into their yard and held him until the police came. In the midst of chaos, the suspect got neither comfort nor a hiding place.
And it is a testament to French’s goodness that Anjanette Young, the Black woman who was the victim of a botched police raid in 2019, told the Sun-Times that French was “the only officer who showed her dignity and respect” during that awful incident.
Young had been forced to stand naked and handcuffed. She said French, who showed up after the raid, allowed her to get dressed in the privacy of her bedroom.
The city has lost a peacemaker.
French dared to put on the blue at a time when police officers are often damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
Unfortunately, at a time like this, the news media sometimes ask insensitive questions that lead to controversies that make it harder to wrap our arms around one another.
For instance, Eric Carter, the police department’s first deputy superintendent, apparently angered rank-and-file officers when he decided to skip the tradition of bagpipes being played when French’s body was delivered to the medical examiner’s office.
When former Supt. Garry McCarthy — who was fired over the delayed release of the video that showed former Officer Jason Van Dyke shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times — was asked whether Carter could regain the respect of the rank-and-file, he chose to vilify Carter.
“It would be a stretch to think they would want to get behind a leader who doesn’t respect something that sacred,” McCarthy told the Sun-Times.
Is this really the time for such rancor?
This isn’t that moment.
This is the moment to turn grieving into action by supporting strategies that can turn these war zones into safe zones.
Two brothers have been charged in connection with this heinous crime.
A third suspect is facing federal charges, accused of being the straw purchaser of the gun used in the killing.
Setting aside all of the rhetoric, this tragic incident shows there are still brave police officers out there doing their jobs.
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