Highland Park Shooting Memorial Locations Considered By Committee

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — The committee tasked with planning a Highland Park shooting memorial is preparing to hire consultants to help with public engagement.

City officials received 22 responses to their request for proposals for a firm to gather feedback with surveys and focus groups about the best location for a permanent memorial. Of those, 11 offered bilingual service and nine had a trauma informed approach, staff explained.

And after five meetings of the group, it has come to the consensus that donations for a permanent place of remembrance will be accepted, though fundraising efforts will not be aggressive, and everyone who contributes will be given equal recognition.

"So, whether you're giving $25 or $2,500 or $250,000, we want to really recognize everyone for the generous contribution," City Manager Ghida Neukirch said at Monday's City Council meeting.

Formed last fall, the city's Place of Remembrance Working Group is composed of 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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Six sites have been evaluated by the working group, according to meeting notes.

They include: the Rose Garden, Port Clinton Plaza, the southwest corner of St. Johns and Central, the north side of Sunset Park, the Ross property and Central Avenue between First and Second. Brown Park and Olson Park were discussed but removed from consideration.

"The purpose of this group is not to narrow down and have one recommended site. We are going to be providing all the information that we have been researching and discussing," Neukirch said Monday.

"Ultimately, that'll come before the mayor and City Council for final determination. But we brainstormed several sites, identified advantages for each site as well as considerations," Neukirch said.

Notes from last month's working group meeting indicate the group has nonetheless narrowed the number of locations under consideration — taking Sunset Park and the southwest corner of St. Johns and Central off the list.

There were "more concerns than positive attributes" with a memorial in the park and the intersection near the train tracks was too loud for a place of reflection, according the notes.

And an update to the list of site options now only includes the Rose Garden and Port Clinton Plaza, which has a note to "consider this site as a small marker; [complementing] the Place of Remembrance."

"[T]he feedback for the Ross property and Sunset Woods Park potential sites incorporated more concerns/considerations than positives," city spokesperson Amanda Bennett said in an email to Patch. "As a result, it is not anticipated that the City Council would entertain further discussion of those locations."

According to a presentation from city staff, one of the firms that responded to the request for proposals will be awarded a contract next month. Though they will eventually become public record, they have been kept confidential during the review process, according to the city manager.

"We're planning to interview firms to hire a consultant to assist with the public engagement piece which will include a myriad of different strategies such as focus groups, surveys, general outreach in English, in Spanish, and we want to give people an opportunity to come to us as well as us directly go to them," Neukirch said.

"That pertains to the site selection, as well as some open-ended questions," she said. "Just so we get really valuable, comprehensive feedback from the public."

The working group began meeting in November 2023 and has had four meeting since. Its next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 27. Its work is expected to last for about three years.

"With respect to the timeline for review, interviews and recommendation of a consultant per the RFP, at this time that timeline has not been finalized," Bennett told Patch.

The existing Rose Garden temporary memorial is due to remain in place until the permanent memorial is completed.

With less than two months before the second anniversary of the parade shooting, which killed seven people and wounded dozens of others, the city manager said the 2024 remembrance ceremony will be held in the auditorium of Edgewood School, rather than the previously announced location of City Hall.

"We're grateful to School District 112 for the use of their auditorium and theater," she said. "We will ask people to register for that event."

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