There’s an abundance of anger online and in person these days but one northern suburb is hoping to unite people around the cause of peace.
Last week, leaders of Northbrook and the local Rotary Club dedicated a Peace Pole in front of Village Hall.
Northbrook Village President Kathryn Ciesla says after months of planning and talks, the unveiling comes at an important time.
“So much of the world right now - especially in America - is on edge. There’s a tension, there’s a lack of acceptance, there’s this level of intolerance for folks who are your neighbors”, she told WBBM.
The roughly seven-foot-tall pole is inscribed with the phrase “May Peace Prevail On Earth” in several languages to show the diversity of the community of 35 thousand people.
They include English, Korean, Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Spanish, Urdu, Mongolian, Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Farsi-Persian, Swahili, Vietnamese and Braille.
Ciesla says the dedication came more than four years after the village adopted a welcoming and inclusive community pledge.
The pole at Village Hall is next door to the library and across the street from Greenbriar Elementary.
The Peace Pole movement began after the US bomings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended World War II.
It now has more than 250 thousand across the world, including three slated for Northbrook.
Rotary has plans to celebrate the International Day of Peace on September 21st at noon.