Highland Park proposes 3 locations for shooting memorial and is asking for your help

Highland Park officials are asking for the community’s feedback on three potential locations for the city’s permanent place of remembrance.

The City of Highland Park announced on Nov. 18 that town officials are inviting the public to share their feelings on a trio of locations that could serve as a home for the memorial that will honor the victims and all who were impacted by the mass shooting on July 4, 2022.

The proposed locations are Port Clinton Plaza, the Rose Garden adjacent to City Hall, and the southwest corner of Central and St. Johns avenues, according to a press release from the city.

Highland Park City Manager Ghida Neukirch told the City Council on Nov. 18 meeting that the three locations “were narrowed down after a number of different sites that we evaluated,” adding that “overall, we’re looking for the public’s feedback.”

As previously reported by The Record, Highland Park began in 2023 a “multi-year process” to develop and install a permanent site in honor of those impacted by the shooting, which in 2022 resulted in more than 50 individuals shot, including seven fatally: Katie Goldstein, Irina McCarthy, Kevin Michael McCarthy, Stephen Straus, Jacki Lovi Sundheim, Nicolás Toledo and Eduardo Uvaldo.

In the immediate wake of the tragedy, impromptu memorials appeared near downtown Highland Park, as detailed by The Record. Highland Park then installed a temporary memorial in the rose garden near City Hall.

Neukirch reiterated during the Nov. 18 meeting that the objective of the place of remembrance is to pay tribute to the memory of the victims; create a space for reflection, remembrance and solace; and honor Highland Park’s resilience, especially of those who were injured.

According to officials, a survey with “guided and open-ended questions” on the potential locations and the future permanent place of remembrance is now available online.

Physical copies of the survey, according to the city’s press release, are available at City Hall, the Highland Park Senior Center and the Highland Park Public Library. It is available in English, Spanish, Russian and Polish and will remain open through Jan. 31, the release says.

Neukirch said that the city is “very much interested in feedback from next-of-kin victims, the entire community as well and really anyone who has been impacted by the shooting that we all endured two years ago.”

As also previously reported by The Record, Highland Park in 2023 announced the formation of a working group tasked with planning for the permanent place of remembrance.

The group includes Neukirch, Mayor Nancy Rotering, councilmember Anthony Blumberg, Resiliency Manager Madeline Kati, Park District of Highland Park Executive Director Brian Romes and Josselyn Community Engagement Manager Gaby Valverde Strobehn.

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