Expressing the condolences of the Senate and honoring the memory of the victims of the mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, on July 4, 2022.

Expressing the condolences of the Senate and honoring the memory of the victims of the mass shooting at the Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, on July 4, 2022. Whereas, on July 4, 2022, a gunman opened fire at the corner of Central Avenue and Second Street in Highland Park, Illinois, during the annual Fourth of July parade; Whereas the gunman took the lives of 7 individuals and injured 46 more individuals; Whereas the 7 individuals who lost their lives that day were (1) Katie Goldstein, age 64, of Highland Park, Illinois, a beloved wife and mother, who was known for her kind, caring personality, and for bringing neighbors delicious baked goods during the holidays; (2) Irina McCarthy, age 35, of Highland Park, Illinois, a wife and mother of 2-year-old Aiden, who met her husband Kevin through their mutual work in the pharmaceutical industry; (3) Kevin McCarthy, age 37, of Highland Park, Illinois, a husband and father of 2-year-old Aiden, who died protecting his son from gunfire; (4) Stephen Strauss, age 88, of Highland Park, Illinois, a brother, husband, father, and grandfather, who was a joke-teller and avid reader and greatly enjoyed the Art Institute of Chicago and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; (5) Jacquelyn Sundheim, age 63, of Highland Park, Illinois, a kind and caring wife and mother, who was a lifelong member of North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe, where she also taught preschool and served as the events coordinator; (6) Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, age 78, of Morelos, Mexico, who was attending the parade with his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren; and (7) Eduardo Uvaldo, age 69, of Waukegan, Illinois, who was a devoted husband, father, and grandfather; Whereas dozens of individuals were wounded by gunfire or injured fleeing the scene of the mass shooting; Whereas the Highland Park Police Department and the Highland Park Fire Department led dozens of agencies in responding to the shooting with bravery and professionalism, including the Illinois State Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Secret Service, the United States Marshals Service, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force, the Chicago Police Department, the Lake County Sheriffs Office, the Cook County Sheriffs Office, the Northwest Central Dispatch System, the Regional Emergency Dispatch Center (RED Center), the Glenview Public Safety Dispatch Center, the Highland Park Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), the Deerfield-Bannockburn Fire Protection District, the Northbrook Fire Department, the Winnetka Fire Department, the Northfield Fire Department, the Buffalo Grove Fire Department, the Prospect Heights Fire Department, the Libertyville Fire Department, the Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District, the Evanston Fire Department, the Glenview Fire Department, the Lake Bluff Fire Department, the Skokie Fire Department, the Wilmette Fire Department, the Des Plaines Fire Department, Glencoe Public Safety, the Lake Forest Fire Department, the Morton Grove Fire Department, the Park Ridge Fire Department, the Waukegan Fire Department, the Niles Fire Department, the Addison Fire Protection District, the Streamwood Fire Department, the Hanover Park Fire Department, and the police departments of Addison, Antioch, Arlington Heights, Bannockburn, Barrington, Barrington Hills, Bartlett, Berwyn, Buffalo Grove, Carpentersville, Cary, Crystal Lake, Deerfield, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Elmhurst, Evanston, Fox Lake, Franklin Park, Glencoe, Glenview, Grayslake, Gurnee, Hanover Park, Harwood Heights, Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Kenilworth, Kildeer, Lake Bluff, Lake Forest, Lake Villa, Lake Zurich, Libertyville, Lincolnshire, Lincolnwood, McHenry, Morton Grove, Mount Prospect, Mundelein, Niles, Norridge, North Chicago, North Riverside, Northbrook, Northfield, Palatine, Prospect Heights, Riverwoods, Rolling Meadows, Rosemont, Round Lake, Round Lake Beach, Round Lake Park, Schiller Park, Skokie, Streamwood, Vernon Hills, Wauconda, Waukegan, Western Springs, Wheeling, Wilmette, Winnetka, Winthrop Harbor, and Zion; Whereas the emergency responders and the doctors, nurses, and other health care providers at Highland Park Hospital, Glenbrook Hospital, Evanston Hospital, Northwestern Medicine Lake Forest Hospital, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, and University of Chicago Medicine Comer Childrens Hospital provided professional and dedicated care to the victims; Whereas dozens of volunteer counselors have traveled to North Shore School District 112 and Township High School District 113 to assist the community in beginning the process of healing, having already met with several thousand community members in need of counseling; Whereas members of the Highland Park, Highwood, Waukegan, and North Chicago communities, along with communities across the entire North Shore, the State of Illinois, the United States, and the world have come together to support the victims of this horrific massacre and their families; Whereas, according to the Gun Violence Archive, the horrific mass shooting that occurred in Highland Park was 1 of 10 mass shootings that occurred on July 4, 2022; and Whereas senseless gun violence has caused devastation, trauma, and grief to too many families and communities across the United States: Now, therefore, be it That the Senate (1) expresses sincere condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of Katie Goldstein, Irina McCarthy, Kevin McCarthy, Stephen Strauss, Jacquelyn Sundheim, Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, and Eduardo Uvaldo, the victims of the tragic shooting along the parade route on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois; (2) honors the lives and memory of the victims, with gratitude for their selfless dedication to others; (3) extends support to the individuals who were injured and subjected to the trauma of the shooting; (4) expresses gratitude to the law enforcement officers, medical personnel, and emergency responders who responded to the shooting with professionalism, dedication, and bravery; and (5) stands in solidarity with the victims of senseless gun violence in communities across the United States.

Summary: This resolution expresses sincere condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of Katie Goldstein, Irina McCarthy, Kevin McCarthy, Stephen Strauss, Jacquelyn Sundheim, Nicolas Toledo-Zaragoza, and Eduardo Uvaldo, who were the victims of the tragic shooting along the parade route on July 4, 2022, in Highland Park, Illinois. The resolution also honors the memory and the lives of the victims.