Highland Park City Council To Discuss Memorial, Remembrance Committee

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Councilmembers are due to discuss the planning process for the establishment of a permanent memorial to the victims of the Highland Park 4th of July mass shooting.

At Tuesday's committee of the whole meeting, the Highland Park City Council is scheduled to consider recommendations from city staff to establish a Place of Remembrance Committee to advise councilmembers of the type and location of the memorial.

The committee is expected to exist for about three years, more or less. City staff suggested it be composed of members of the City Council and members of Park District of Highland Park Board, with a rotating cast of elected officials in attendance, according to a staff memo.

"Given the multi-year task and magnitude of specific objective, it is recommended that the Remembrance Committee be led by City/PDHP officials and staff (Mayor / City Manager / Resiliency Manager/ PDHP Director)," Assistant City Manager Emily Taub said in the memo.

The city's victim specialist, police and community development department will hall support the committee's work, Taub said. Staff recommended holding open, public meeting and convening focus groups and other public engagement as the committee prepares its recommendations.

Staff also recommended replacing the term "Permanent Memorial" in favor of officially calling it"Place of Remembrance."

"This is to emphasize the intention of the future space as a sacred area for remembering the lives and legacies of those who were killed, honoring the journeys of all who were injured, and commemorating the ways in which the Highland Park community was forever changed," according to a news release.

Taub said representatives of the city are committed approaching the planning process in a way that is informed by trauma and incorporates best practices and expert feedback as it develops, with core values of inclusion, transparency, and respect for opinions, the difficulty of the matter and the fact that the memorial is meant to last for decades into the future.

"Each step will be deliberate, thoughtful, and measured to balance the diverse needs of the community and particularly those who were directly impacted by the shooting," she said.

Other than the structure of the memorial planning process, the City Council is not scheduled to discuss any other details, it said.

The committee of the whole meeting will begin around 6:30 p.m., immediately after the City Council meeting in the second floor pre-session conference room of City Hall, 1707 St. Johns Ave. It will be available for streaming via the city's website and social media channels. Anyone with questions or comments about agenda items may email or call the city manager's office at 847-926-1000, or make a comment during the meeting.

The temporary memorial at the Rose Garden adjacent to City Hall will remain in place until the permanent memorial is completed.

Related: City Council Discusses Permanent Highland Park Mass Shooting Memorial