Where is Highland Park?What we know about affluent Chicago suburbs

Six people were shot and killed Monday morning during the July 4 parade in Highland Park, Illinois, an affluent Chicago suburb known for its picturesque homes and tree-lined streets.
About 25 miles north of Chicago, Highland Park is home to about 30,000 people and is known as a family community where several films were filmed in the 1980s, including “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Sixteen Candles.”
The annual Fourth of July parade has not been held since 2019 due to the pandemic.Plans start with parades for children and pets, followed by larger parades hosted by the city and park district.But authorities said a gunman opened fire on the parade route at around 10:15 a.m. local time on Monday, apparently from a roof.
“Our community will never recover from this wound,” Mayor Nancy Rotlin said on “TODAY” Tuesday.
“It’s one of the unique things about my hometown, people come back to raise their children, their grandparents are with them. It’s absolutely devastating for all of us.”
Highland Park is located on the shores of Lake Michigan about 25 miles north of Chicago.The North Shore City is largely made up of suburbs, with a central business district and a handful of beaches and lakeside trails.
Highland Park caters to many families and couples, approximately two-thirds of the homes are married couples/families.The city is also predominantly white — 82.3 percent of its residents — while 8.9 percent are Hispanic or Latino, 3.7 percent Asian and 1.6 percent black.
Some neighbors and residents describe Highland Park as having a large Jewish community that represents a large Jewish population in Chicago’s northern suburbs.The 2020 U.S. Census data doesn’t break down the suburb’s religious affiliation demographics.For example, Beth El, a northern suburban synagogue in Highland Park, serves about 1,100 families as of 2022, according to its website.
In nearby Glencoe, Illinois, one of the victims of the Fourth of July shooting, Jacki Sundheim, was a congregation and staff member of the North Shore Congregation in Israel.
In 2013, Highland Park leaders issued a ban on assault rifles in suburban cities.The Supreme Court later declined to hear an appeal seeking to overturn the decree.
Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering said she did not know the details of how the alleged gunman obtained the high-powered rifle used in the July 4 attack, but she said he did so legally.
The area has been used on location for several films, including the 1980s John Hughes films “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “Strange Science,” “Sixteen Candles,” and “Home Alone,” as well as risky business .
Joel’s house in “A Risky Business”, Gary’s house in “Weird Science”, Cameron’s house in “Ferris Buller’s Day Off”, Jack’s house in “Sixteen Candles” The houses…all in Highland Park.It’s a place full of movie magic and one of the 100 richest cities in America.No place is safe.There is no bit.pic.twitter.com/Hl6R1rLWmr
Compared to the rest of Illinois, Highland Park’s population is largely wealthy: The city’s median household income of $147,067 in 2020 is the largest in the country and the state, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. more than twice the median household income.
About three-quarters of the city’s residents over the age of 25 have a bachelor’s degree or higher.More than 10 percent of the city’s homes are worth more than $1 million.
The suburban city’s Fourth of July parades typically feature “floats, marching bands, novelty groups, community entries and other special entertainment,” according to the city’s website.The parade then usually moves into a festival with food, music, carnival rides and games, and a “Finals” performance at the Bitter Clown Festival – an annual professional band fighting style festival held throughout the summer in the city.