In the summer of 2009, then-16-year-old Connor Murphy and 15-year-old Jake McCabe were slightly overwhelmed.

They had just been the last two players chosen — and were called in together to hear the news — for a U.S. team at a junior hockey -development camp. They were months away from joining the U.S. -National Team Development Program. Their hockey careers were quickly accelerating, but they were still mere teenagers.

“At that age, everything is such a shock,” Murphy said. “It felt so crazy to be connecting with guys who were across the U.S. [It] almost felt like they were across the world at the time. And we literally were playing against kids across the world after that.”

But they at least had each other. Murphy, an Ohioan, and McCabe, a Wisconsinite, quickly became friends.

Twelve years later, they remain close. And this fall, for the first time, they’ll be united on NHL ice.

With McCabe leaving the Sabres to sign a four-year contract with the Blackhawks, and Duncan Keith’s departure making Connor Murphy by far the Hawks’ longest-tenured defenseman, their friendship has come full circle.

“It’s definitely the spot I wanted to be, so sometimes I have to pinch myself that it’s real,” McCabe said. “It’s pretty cool to be able to drive over to Fifth Third [Arena] now and hop on the ice with the rest of the guys.”

“In the [locker] room the other day, we were both saying it feels weird seeing him sitting in the stall by us with Hawks gear on,” Murphy said. “It has been so many years [of] seeing him around with all of his Buffalo stuff and reconnecting in the summer. Now realizing that we’re going to be together every day of the year, that’s an exciting thing.”

Marko Hannula/USA Hockey

After joining the USNTDP in the fall of 2009, it didn’t take long for McCabe and Murphy to become familiar with each other.

“It was very quick,” McCabe said. “You get to know your teammates pretty quick when you spend all the time in the world with them. We both lived in the same general area, or at least our billet families did. You eat lunch together, you sometimes drive to the rink together [and] we were hurt together, so we spent a lot of time together.”

Wait a second. Hurt together?

“We actually both suffered the same injury: We both had a stress fracture in our lower backs,” McCabe said. “We were out for a couple months and did the same rehab together: Manual therapy and strengthening. It was nice, actually.”

In between games, practices and tournaments with the USNTDP, players still attend public high school. For McCabe and Murphy, Pioneer High in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was their assigned school.

And while they were sidelined with their back injuries, there was a lot more school and a lot less hockey.

“We needed another elective credit, so we took guitar class together,” Murphy said. “We were sitting in there with our back braces, playing guitar, trying to learn that, thinking about how cool it would be. It’s funny how far we’ve gotten since then.”

Murphy moved on to Canadian juniors and McCabe to the University of Wisconsin in 2011, but the friends continued to play alongside each other on U.S. national teams.

McCabe recalls Murphy scoring the overtime championship-winning goal for the U.S. against Sweden in the 2011 World Under-18 Championships. And Murphy recalls McCabe serving as the U.S. captain and top-pair defenseman en route to a gold medal in the 2013 World Under-20 Championships.

McCabe’s top-pair partner, in another remarkable present-day, Hawks-related twist, was Seth Jones. That team was also stacked with John Gibson (now with the Ducks) in goal, J.T. Miller (Canucks) up front and Jacob Trouba (Rangers) also on defense.

“That was an awesome tournament,” McCabe said. “We had a really, really talented team. John Gibson was definitely our MVP; he was unbelievable all tournament long. But we just had a really good group.”

Andre Ringuette/HHOF-IIHF Images

After turning pro, McCabe and Murphy again represented the country and played together in the 2014 and 2016 World Championships.

“[In 2014], I was fresh out of college, so I wasn’t playing a whole bunch — I was more just opening the door and letting the other guys go out there,” McCabe said with a laugh. “But [in 2016], we were actually ‘D’ partners most of the tournament.”

Although that 2016 team finished fourth, a certain USA Hockey executive watching from the stands in Russia — Hawks general manager Stan Bowman — was impressed by the McCabe-Murphy pairing’s performance.

“I remember leaving there thinking, ‘These guys are really good, young defensemen,’ ” Bowman said earlier this summer.

” ‘It seems they have bright careers ahead of them, and it would be nice one day to bring them to Chicago.’ “

That same year, McCabe rented a summer apartment in River North with his wife and “loved it right away.” Working out with two college friends ultimately connected him to Chicago-based GVN Performance, which became his permanent summer training group.

After Bowman acquired Murphy from the Coyotes in 2017, the longtime friends would occasionally run into each other or hang out during offseasons in Chicago, but their time together remained limited.

Meanwhile, McCabe’s Hawks connections continued to grow, such as when the Hawks last year hired GVN trainer Juan Gonzalez as the Rockford IceHogs’ strength and conditioning coach. McCabe’s daughter’s birth in April further cemented the family’s future in Chicago.

Finally, this July, with McCabe an unrestricted free agent and Bowman rebuilding a maligned defense, the union that long seemed inevitable finally happened.

“My wife and I were talking about free agency coming up and hoping there was going to be a fit [with the Hawks],” McCabe said. “And luckily enough, there was mutual interest. It came together relatively quickly.”

“I was super excited, obviously,” Murphy said. “Any time you have a buddy that joins onto the team, it feels great.”

McCabe remains on track to be 100% recovered from knee surgery in February in time for training camp next month, whereas Murphy has focused on his conditioning and puck-moving skills during summer training.

They, along with Jones and Calvin de Haan, comprise the revamped defensive core expected to greatly improve the Hawks’ ability to keep the puck out of their net next season.

“It is amazing how some of this stuff comes full circle,” Murphy said. “To think that, after 12 years, we’re back in a similar stage together is pretty cool.”

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Notes come around Chicago outdoors and beyond.

WILD OF THE WEEK

Dan Davies was in his backyard in Griffith, Ind., watering when he saw a butterfly that made him email, “I’ve never seen one that colorful.” Michael Jeffords, entomologist for the Illinois Natural History Survey and one author of “Butterflies of Illinois: A Field Guide,” identified it as a yellow morph of a female eastern tiger swallowtail. Then he added, “They also come in black that is a mimic of the pipeline swallowtail. All tiger swallowtail males are yellow, but [there are] different morphs of the female varies, depending on location. Yellow are more common in the northern part of it’s range.”

WOTW, the celebration of wild stories and photos around Chicago outdoors, runs most weeks in the special two-page outdoors section in the Sun-Times Sports Saturday. To make submissions, email [email protected] or contact me on Facebook (Dale Bowman), Twitter (@BowmanOutside) or Instagram (@BowmanOutside).

WILD TIMES

HUNTER SAFETY

Wednesday-Thursday, Aug. 18-19: Kankakee, (815) 935-2700

Thursday and next Saturday, Aug. 19 and 21: Mundelein, (847) 918-6145

Friday-next Saturday, Aug. 20-21: Ingleside, [email protected]

Aug. 28-29: Palatine, palatineparks.org

FISH GATHERING

Thursday, Aug. 19: Dale Bowman on “Pandemic changes,” Fish Tales Fishing Club, Worth Township offices, Alsip, 7 p.m., fishtalesfishingclub.com

LUNCHTIME LECTURES

Monday, Aug. 16: Austin Happel, a research biologist at the Shedd Aquarium, Bridgehouse Museum on Chicago Riverwalk, free, noon-12:45 p.m., bridgehousemuseum.org/events

SAFARI CLUB

Through Sunday, Aug. 15: Online auction for Safari Club International Illinois and Chicago chapters, 2021-on-line-fundraiser

CONSERVATION WORLD

Through Aug. 22: Illinois State Fairgrounds, Springfield, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., www2.illinois.gov/dnr/ConservationWorld/

U.S. COAST GUARD AUXILIARY

Next Saturday, Aug. 21: Boat America, Waukegan, Curt Schumacher, [email protected]

ILLINOIS PERMITS

Through Monday, Aug. 16: Applications, third lottery, firearm/muzzleloader deer

Monday, Aug. 16 to Aug. 31: Applications, first lottery, duck/goose blinds, www2.illinois.gov/dnr/hunting/waterfowl/Pages/OnlinePermitApplication.aspx

Aug. 31: Deadline, applications for free upland game permit

DALE’S MAILBAG

Ron Wozny

“From one guy at the flea yesterday eight trolley rigs. . . . Allstate [Arena] parking lot, every Sunday a.m. You would find tons of stuff you don’t really need but can’t live without.” Ron Wozny

A: Wozny proving why he is one of the great collectors of Chicago fishing memorabilia with a great find. Just another reason we need that Chicago Fishing Museum.

BIG NUMBER

47.86: Official weight of the Michigan state-record Chinook, caught Aug. 7 by Luis Ricardo Hernandez Martinez while trolling with Capt. Bobby Sullivan of Icebreaker Charters.

Provided by the Michigan DNR

LAST WORD

“I just finished `Home Waters.’ It was a great as advertised (apparently writing talent is an inheritable trait). I had to limit myself to no more than two chapters/day in order to avoid racing through it.”

Pete Lamar, describing the joy of reading “Home Waters,” by John Maclean, who is the son of Norman Maclean, author “A River Runs Through I.t” Click here for my review of it.

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Andy Dalton was watching film in the Bears’ quarterbacks room during organized team activities in June when he turned to ask Justin Fields a question.

“I asked him, ‘What is it like to run 4.4?” Dalton said.

Fields, the Bears’ rookie quarterback, ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash at Ohio State’s pro day. With no NFL Scouting Combine because of the coronavirus, Fields’ time — along with those of every other prospect who couldn’t travel to Indianapolis — was recorded into the combine record books. Fields ran, simply, the second-fastest 40-yard dash time of any quarterback prospect this century. He trails only Robert Griffin III, the former Washington quarterback who ran hurdles in the U.S. Olympic trials. Griffin ran a 4.33 in 2012.

“Not many people can do that at the quarterback position,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said. “But when you have designed runs and you have plays that break down, and [Fields] can just make anybody on the field not catch him, that’s a pretty good strength that he has that a lot of guys don’t have.”

When the Bears run onto Soldier Field to face the Dolphins on Saturday, they’ll play perhaps the most anticipated preseason game in franchise history. It’s partly because fans are returning to the lakefront for the first time since the end of the 2019 season. But it’s mostly because of Fields, whom the Bears traded up to draft in late April.

Hungry for any sign of progress, fans will eat up every throw — heck, some cheered a handoff he made at Family Fest — but they should pay attention to every run. For the first time since he wore Buckeye stickers on his gray helmet, Fields will be able to show his speed on a football field, when opponents chase him with bad intentions.

His teammates will watch, too.

“I’m excited for the first preseason game for us to really be able to see him get a chance to get outside the pocket and make a play with his legs,” receiver Allen Robinson said. “We see his throwing ability every day. It’s exciting seeing him, when he pulls the ball down, seeing his athletic ability and how he moves and how he can run.

“I’m definitely excited to see him get that opportunity against another opponent when he can actually possibly break a long one. Because I think he has that capability in him.”

In 34 college games, Fields ran 260 times for 1,133 yards. One reason for the unimpressive 4.4 yards per carry average: in college football, sacks count against the quarterback’s rushing yards.

Fields’ most notable play came when he didn’t have the ball at all. On Dec. 5, he handed off to Ohio State running back Trey Sermon and chased after him, looking to make a block. Fifty-seven yards later, having passed Sermon, Fields blocked a Michigan State defender at the 7-yard line. Sermon scored.

“[Speed] is a huge weapon that he brings and that’s been a part of his game,” Nagy said. “I don’t think you see him overuse it; he just uses it when he needs to, in college. And it’s worked for him.”

Nagy calls it “burst” — both the zip that the rifle-armed Fields puts on his passes but the gear he shifts into, like a sports car, when he takes off running. Nagy sees it on tape, but he feels it on the practice field. Strangely, too, it’s not even when Fields is running with the ball. It’s when he’s jogging from one practice session to the other.

“Watch his burst when he throws routes on air to the wideouts,” Nagy said. “Watch that burst when that drill is done and he bursts to the other end of the field. You can see it. That’s where you feel it.”

Nagy’s felt it before — he coached Michael Vick in Philadelphia from 2009-12. The NFL’s career rushing leader for quarterbacks, Vick led the league with 6.8 yards per carry in 20210.

“Michael Vick was somebody that, when he was in practice he did his stuff and he did everything he was asked to do, but on Sunday — and I was on the sideline when he was playing — it was electric how he played,” Nagy said. “It was a different level. That was crazy. Anybody that coached Michael can say that.

“But Justin, again, you feel that burst.”

Nagy has coached a speedy quarterback before, but the threat didn’t last long. Mitch Trubisky averaged 6.2 yards per carry — and totaled 421 rushing yards — in 2018.

As Trubisky’s injury history grew — he bruised his shoulder in November 2018 and tore the labrum in his shoulder in September 2019 — Trubisky ran less. By October 2019, Nagy was preaching that he wanted him to be a thrower.

“You have to be a quarterback that can run,” Nagy said then.

Trubisky didn’t reach 400 rushing yards — combined — over his final two seasons.

The tone with Fields has been different. The coaching staff has yet to question Fields’ aggressiveness the way they did Trubisky. Nagy used to say he wanted Trubisky to have a “touchdown-to-checkdown” mentality when throwing — look deep first, then short. During draft week, Nagy joked about Fields having a “touchdown-to-touchdown mentality,” a line he repeated in mandatory minicamp and again in training camp.

The Bears liked that teams had to prepare for Trubisky’s legs. They knew that there were coverages some teams wouldn’t play on third down — man being one of them — for fear of having their defenders’ backs turned if Trubisky scrambled.

That remains true with Fields. When Nagy interviewed nine defensive coordinators in January, each one brought up the challenge of defending an athletic quarterback.

“It adds a whole other dynamic they have to defend,” general manager Ryan Pace said. “A lot of guys have it. A lot of guys don’t. And [Fields] has it.”

By the second week of training camp, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo was challenging Fields to attack the defense even more. The message: not a lot of people walking the earth can throw and run like Fields.

“When you escape,” DeFilippo said he told Fields, “I want to see that full speed. And if there is a throw to make, you make it. And if there is not, then you use your God-given ability to create. …

“Justin has that added gift, for sure. And you can never take that out of a guy.”

It comes with its risks, though.

About halfway through the second quarter of Ohio State’s national semifinal win against Clemson, Fields scrambled up the middle. Eleven yards later, at the Tigers’ 19, Fields saw linebacker James Skalski running right at him, and turned his back to protect the ball.

Skalski tackled him helmet-first — he was ejected for targeting — but the damage was done.

“One of the more vicious shots I’ve seen in a long time,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said.

Fields’ ribs ached for weeks — and hampered him in the national title loss to Alabama.

“I’m still scarred from that Clemson hit,” Fields said. “Literally every time I tuck the ball down and run I’m thinking about getting out of bounds or getting down. There’s of course going to be times when you have to, of course, try to fight for extra yardage. I’m definitely smarter and trying to protect myself more. …

“The hit hurt so much, every time I run now, I just think of that hit and I’m not trying to take a hit like that again. So I definitely get out of bounds or getting down.”

He should have slid.

“We want him to cut it loose — but don’t take that extra hit,” Nagy said. “We’ll live to see another down. We don’t need you guys getting speared.”

Fields, a former baseball shortstop, knows how to slide. Vick, one of the game’s greatest athletes ever, did not.

“We had to get the Slip ‘n’ Slide out in practice with Michael …” Nagy said. “Learning how to slide and not take a hit, that extra hit, and there’s that timing element too. Because some guys if you slide too late and they hit you — you know, even if it’s a penalty, you’re still getting hit.”

Just ask Trubisky. At home against the Vikings in 2018, Trubisky scrambled left and tried to slide. Instead of going feet-first like a baseball player, he went head-first — which, per NFL rules, still grants him protection from oncoming defenders.

That didn’t stop Vikings safety Harrison Smith, who hit Trubisky. He was flagged and fined, but Trubisky’s right shoulder was jammed into the ground. Trubisky missed two games. The Bears lost one. They missed a first-round bye by one win — and lost in the wild-card round.

“We lost him for a few weeks,” Nagy said. “You’ve got to be smart. That’s where we’ve got to educate [Fields]. Things happen a little faster. Don’t be stupid. You know, get down when you get a chance.”

During practice earlier this month, Fields scrambled and, to his coaches’ delight, slid.

“I was just thinking about baseball, actually,” Fields said.

Fields is looking forward to taking his first hit in eight months Saturday — but not like that.

“Moving a little bit, running around a little bit definitely pumps me up a little bit more rather than staying kind of calm in the backfield,” he said. “Running around and getting hit — It’s of course gonna be first time since January, but I’m definitely excited.”

He’s not the only one.

‘”He’s special,” Dalton said. “If he’s got that room in front of him, that’s a part of his game that he can definitely use, with his speed that he’s got.”

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Moon Alert

There are no restrictions to shopping or important decisions. The moon is in Scorpio.

Aries (March 21-April 19)

Today you have strong opinions about shared property or something to do with the assets that your partner or someone else owns. Because of this, you might be at odds with someone older or more experienced. Nevertheless, your high energy will make you feisty!

Taurus (April 20-May 20)

Today the moon is opposite your sign at odds with stern Saturn, which can make conversations with authority figures difficult and challenging. Someone you know will be full of energy and demand to be taken seriously or to be recognized. (You can’t avoid this.)

Gemini (May 21-June 20)

You might have difficulty at work dealing with someone, especially someone older or more experienced. You might encounter this person in connection with your health or something to do with a pet. Be patient because this encounter is brief — then it’s gone.

Cancer (June 21-July 22)

Children might be an increased responsibility. You might also encounter rules and regulations that affect your plans with sports or social occasions. Nevertheless, you have lots of energy to socialize and have fun today! Go with what works.

Leo (July 23-Aug. 22)

Family conversations will be lively because you have strong opinions about what you want. Nevertheless, someone older or more experienced might counter you or try to block your efforts. Find a way to make everyone happy. A workable compromise. (That’s your best solution.)

Virgo (Aug. 23-Sept. 22)

Today fiery Mars is in your sign dancing with the moon, which excites you and energizes all your conversations with others. You have something to say! You want to be heard! At one point, you might encounter some opposition from someone older at work or connected with your health.

Libra (Sept. 23-Oct. 22)

You might encounter some difficulties with financial matters today. Credit cards might be rejected. Officials might block something that you want to do. (Something will be an irritant.) Nevertheless, you are firm and confident about trying to correct any glitches to your financial situation.

Scorpio (Oct. 23-Nov. 21)

Today the moon is in your sign at odds with Saturn but energized by Mars. Therefore, dealing with a parent or an older family member might be challenging. Nevertheless, you feel confident and full of positive energy to go after what you want. Nothing will hold you back.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22-Dec. 21)

You might choose to play things low-key today and work alone or behind the scenes because it feels better. Possibly, someone older or more experienced will get in the way of your plans or block you in some way. They might even criticize you or make you feel diminished. This is temporary. You bounce back!

Capricorn (Dec. 22-Jan. 19)

You might encounter difficulty with a friend today or a member of a group. In fact, for a few of you, a friendship might end. Nevertheless, your high energy and positive state of mind will carry the day for you and will even promote your relations with others. Relax.

Aquarius (Jan. 20-Feb. 18)

It will be apparent to others that someone is blocking your aims and desires today. Whatever or whoever blocks you might be an authority figure who cites rules and regulations. Or it could be a parent or some kind of a situation that does not favor you. Nevertheless, you will persevere!

Pisces (Feb. 19-March 20)

You might encounter challenges or difficulties to travel plans or something to do with your studies today. Someone in authority might thwart your efforts. This will not hold you back because you are determined and you have strong energy! Courage!

If Your Birthday Is Today

Actress Mila Kunis (1983) shares your birthday. You are high spirited, intelligent, perceptive and organized. You are also charming and adaptable. The combination of these qualities is why others often seek your advice. In a nine-year cycle, this is your last year, which is why it’s a time of endings and wrapping up what you’ve been involved with for the last nine years. Next year is a new beginning!

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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.

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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.

No one was in custody.

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A Chicago police officer was seriously wounded after they were dragged by a vehicle Friday evening in Englewood.

About 7 p.m., there was an altercation between an officer and an offender in the 6300 block of South State Street, Chicago fire officials said.

The officer was then dragged by a vehicle for about 40 feet, fire officials said.

The officer was transported to the University of Chicago Medical Center in serious to critical condition, fire officials said.

Police have not yet released information on the incident.

This is a developing story. Check back for details.

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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.

“I knelt down because she was so small,” the mother said in an interview at her home Friday, six days after her daughter, a Chicago police officer, was shot to death during a traffic stop in West Englewood.

“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.

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.

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.

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.”

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.”

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.”

Provided

Contributing: Madeline Kenney

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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.”

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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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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