Two locations — one ‘primary,’ one ‘subtle’ — recommended to honor Highland Park victims and survivors

Highland Park officials could end up creating two public spaces to support remembrance of and reflection on the July 4, 2022 shooting.

Following a recommendation from consultants, who were tasked with gathering input on potential locations for the place of remembrance, city officials expressed general support for the concept on Monday, April 14, during a Highland Park City Council Committee of the Whole session.

City leaders narrowed a list to three potential locations for the place of remembrance and hired consulting firm Do Tank to conduct community engagement to determine how residents, survivors and victims’ families felt about the locations.

Based on those results, Do Tank recommended two sites: a primary memorial in the rose garden adjacent to City Hall and a “subtle, secondary place of remembrance” at Port Clinton Plaza, according to Emily Blazer, with Do Tank.

Blazer went over the extensive data gathered from 938 survey responses, as well as focus groups and interviews.

Commenting on data segments (coming from community members, victims’ next of kin and those present and injured on July 4, 2022), Blazer noted several differences of opinion, including that community members preferred a location that was remote and quiet and next of kin/present and injured one that was centrally located.

When asked to rank the locations for the place of remembrance, Blazer said community members most frequently ranked the rose garden first (55.39%), while the next of kin, present and injured put Port Clinton first (45.83%).

Survey participants reportedly were asked if they would support multiple locations and a majority of both groups responded that they would (64% for community members, 78.31% for next of kin/present and injured).

“Participants who had strong feelings that there should only be one location were mostly against having any acknowledgement in Port Clinton Plaza,” according to the final report, for reasons that included lack of privacy and the potential for retraumatization being near the site of the shooting.

The final report also notes that “(Focus group and interview) participants were generally open to a subtle secondary site in Port Clinton Plaza, but many would like the option to engage with it or not. Many that first answered ‘No,’ with conversation and explanation from fellow participants, were then open to a small acknowledgement at Port Clinton Plaza.”

Based on the feedback, Blazer said Do Tank is recommending the primary location at the rose garden and the subtle, secondary location at Port Clinton.

“We think this is the most human-centered and holistic approach to the decision,” she said.

The final report also stated the differences between the two locations:

“The primary place of remembrance in the Rose Garden will provide a space for the community to quietly reflect in a serene setting. A smaller, subtle acknowledgment in Port Clinton marks the site of the shooting in a meaningful way to honor those whose lives were taken and those whose lives were forever changed.”

Councilmembers mostly shared a positive response to the recommendation.

Mayor Nancy Rotering said she thought “the quiet respite in the rose garden” was beneficial for reflection, while also “acknowledging that something happened in Port Clinton” provided different purposes for the place of remembrance. She also noted that “the resiliency of the community and celebrating life and bringing life back and bringing community strength back … I thought it was important to have that nuance.”

Councilmember Kim Stone expressed appreciation for how thorough and human-centered the community engagement process was.

“I like this two-location place of remembrance,” she said. “I think this is a really good idea and I don’t think it’s one we would have come up with had we not had this process.”

While Councilmember Annette Lidawer said she appreciated the process, she expressed disappointment that there wasn’t an additional focus group that spoke with community leaders who were present.

“I think in addition to (the focus groups), certain of us who were in leadership positions and directly there never had that opportunity (to share thoughts),” she said, later adding that she would like to spend more time discussing the data as a council.

Rotering responded that no decision has been made regarding the place of remembrance, and that there will still be opportunities for discussion.

Councilmember Andrés Tapia expressed support for the council not rushing to make a decision.

“This is such an important and also loaded and sensitive topic,” he said. “I think we need to give it space.”

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