(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- As Highland Park braces for next week’s anniversary of the parade shooting that killed seven people, some residents are avoiding the city’s 4th of July events and holiday celebrations.
Lisa Berghoff’s family will attend the city’s remembrance events, but she plans to be in Montreal with her mother.
“I decided I wanted to be out of the country, somewhere where the Fourth of July isn’t even celebrated,” Berghoff said.
She spoke to WBBM Newsradio after the Highland Park Strong half marathon last month.
While she and other residents who attended the parade last year said they weren’t ready to gather publicly in 2023, some -- like Suzie Gray -- are. Her son is a classmate of Cooper Roberts, the boy who was paralyzed in the shooting.
“We’ll be there for everything,” she said.
Terri Olian will be there, too. Not as executive director of the Highland Park Community Foundation, but as a resident who appreciates the care she says the city has taken to reclaim and remember.
She said she respects the individual feelings of other residents: “People take different times, different paths.”
Debra Baum and Deerfield resident Lauren Brown both say they plan to stay home with their families on the holiday. They’ve joined different gun control groups and were working at the race as their way to commemorate the tragedy.
Related
Listen to our new podcast Courier Pigeon
Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram