Highland Park holds somber remembrance one year after parade shooting
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It was an emotional 4th of July for the Highland Park community, marking one year since a gunman killed seven people and injured dozens more at the annual parade.
The city spent Tuesday remembering and moving forward.
This has not been a traditional 4th of July in Highland Park, and local leaders said it couldn't be after the tragedy that tore through their community last year.
The goal for this day was to begin healing, and for the community to reclaim that parade route.
Highland Park's 4th of July started with song; the community joining together to sing the national anthem, and to stand as one.
"One year ago we were shaken to our core," said Mayor Nancy Rotering, standing alongside faith leaders to deliver a message of resilience, saying a traditional parade would not be appropriate on this day.
The Highland Park City Council curated a day of healing, starting with a memorial ceremony. Minutes later, neighbors joined together for a community walk down the parade route. The day's events will end with a drone show instead of fireworks.
Rotering said she owes it to the community to reflect and remember.
"It was important for us to say that evil doesn't win, and this is our parade route, and this is our community that we are taking back," she said.
"We don't forget those killed and injured a year ago. We don't forget the trauma in our own community. I'm sure many of you recognize the fear I feel looking to the rooftops for shadowy figures, planning escape routes at every public gathering," said Rabbi Isaac Serotta, from Makom Solel Lakeside congregation in Highland Park.
As he attended the memorial, lifelong Highland Park resident Roger Biondi carried a coin bearing the town motto: "The salvation of the community is watchfulness of the citizen."
He said it's a reminder of why he showed up to stand with his neighbors one year later.
"I just feel an attachment to the community, and I just wanted to express my condolences to people that I hadn't seen," he said.
More than 5,000 people from Highland Park and across the Chicago area signed up for the city's planned events; the goal to never forget, and to reclaim the town, vowing not to be defined by tragedy.
"This doesn't end today. This is not just next year. This is lifetimes of an impact," Rotering said.
"All of us are Highland Park together," Serotta said.
A temporary memorial created in honor of the seven killed last year has seen consistent visitors all day, paying tribute to those lost.
Rotering said the city will start conversations next month about how to turn the temporary memorial into a permanent one.