Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering Will Seek Fourth Term In 2023

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Nancy Rotering, the third-term Highland Park mayor, who helped see the city through the mass shooting that killed seven people and injured dozens more during the annual July 4 parade, will seek a fourth term, she announced Monday.

Rotering, the first woman to ever serve as Mayor in Highland Park, will seek re-election on April 4, 2023, and hopes to continue to provide “steady, responsible public service to my hometown.” Rotering sought an assault weapons ban for Highland Park in 2013 after the Sandy Hook school shooting, which led the Highland Park City Council to pass the ban.

In order to have the assault ban passed locally, Rotering took on the NRA and took the measure all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where she prevailed. In July, Rotering again stepped to the forefront of the issue and again called for a national ban on assault weapons after the July 4 shooting in Highland Park again brought the issue back to the forefront of national news.

Earlier this year, a Highland Park resident filed suit claiming that the city's 9-year-old ban is unconstitutional. In the suit, Susan Karen Goldman says she owns multiple assault weapons and high-powered magazines but stores the weapons outside the city limits. She claims she should not be forced to travel outside of Highland Park to transfer weapons to others.

However, Rotering said she is working not only to keep Highland Park's ban in place but to expand similar laws to the nation.

“I am running for re-election to ensure consistent, compassionate leadership as our community navigates the aftermath of the horrific mass shooting in July,” Rotering said in a news release on Monday announcing her candidacy for a fourth term. “While this one event will not define us, it is our decisions followed by our actions that illustrate who we are and what we stand for as a community.”

On Sunday, Rotering tweeted out condolences to the families and friends of those affected by the mass shooting at the LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado. In the tweet, Rotering wrote, “Hate and violence cannot be tolerated. We will keep working towards a world where our human rights are not violated by gun violence. This is not freedom.”

Since being elected, Rotering said she has focused on fiscal stability, public safety, infrastructure investment, and community vibrancy. Throughout her administration, Highland Park has maintained an AAA bond rating, the highest rating available and a leading indicator of strong, responsible financial management possessed by only a handful of Illinois cities.

Related: Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering Delivers New Year's Message