Highland Park Celebrates Resilience On Anniversary Of Horrific Parade Shooting

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — The community of Highland Park came together this Independence Day weekend to remember the lives of the people who were taken and the lives impacted by the 2022 parade shooting.

This year's program focused on the theme of growing forward together in recognition of the many ways the community has supported and encouraged each other since the tragedy.

"Each time we gather, the shadow of that day stretches over us—familiar and heavy, a reminder of what we carry," Mayor Nancy Rotering said. "But alongside that pain, something else has quietly taken root: connection, and a shared commitment to one another."

Following the remembrance ceremony, the community participated in a mosaic project with the Chicago Mosaic School that features a tree of life and a monarch butterfly. This is meant to symbolize and pay tribute to the memories of the victims, the journeys of those who were injured and the community's resilience.

The mosaic will be completed by the artists at the mosaic school and is anticipated to be put on display this fall.

"Remembrance becoming part of the fabric of everyday life is a good way of describing what we mean by resilience," said Melissa Burke, Victim Specialist for Lake County's State's Attorney "'Resilience' doesn’t mean forgetting, or moving on – it means moving forward, mindful of all that we have experienced and lost."

Many family members and survivors of the mass shooting have filed lawsuits against Smith & Wesson, alleging the gun maker continued to market and sell its gun, pushing itto teenagers despite its use in four of the most tragic mass shootings over the last decade in Aurora, CO, San Bernardino, CA, Parkland, FL and Poway, CA.

On April 1, an Illinois court ruled the wrongful death lawsuits against the company, which created the "M&P 15" AR-15-style weapon used in the shooting, would proceed to trial. The court also allowed claims against BudsGunShop.com and Red Dot Arms, the gun dealers who ultimately sold the gun to shooter Robert Crimo, to go forward.

"We cannot erase the grief felt by so many, or the losses suffered. We can, however, remember, learn and grow stronger because of it," Gov. JB Prtizker said in a video statement. "In Illinois, in memory of those who were murdered, we have taken action to reduce the plague of gun violence and we renew our commitment today to making sure that our state is safer for all. May the memories of those who were lost on that terrible day be a blessing and a call to action to us all."

Robert Crimo III, the gunman who opened fire on the crowd at the 2022 parade, was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole on April 24 this year.