Since the mass shooting at last year’s Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois has moved swiftly on gun control measures. The most controversial has been the ban on so-called assault weapons.

Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotering was marching in last year’s Fourth of July parade when gun shots began to ring out. In the year since, she has seen the town come together in its time of need.

Highland Park’s community emergency response team, or CERT, made up of residents from all walks of life — doctors, businesspeople, scientists — had a vital role to play in response to the mass shooting. 

It seemingly took a hometown tragedy to make it happen, but in January the statewide assault weapons ban Illinois legislators who represent Highland Park spent almost a decade fighting for became law – one of several measures Illinois legislators took in direct connection to the shooting.

Since 2016, thousands of Americans have been wounded in mass shootings, and tens of thousands by gun violence. Beyond the colossal medical bills and the weight of trauma and grief, mass shooting survivors and family members contend with scores of other changes that upend their lives.

The number of people shot in Chicago dropped more than 10% in the first six months of this year, as compared with the same period last year, according to police data. The number of shootings is down 6.4%, according to police data.

Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of the mass shooting that left seven dead and 48 more wounded, and 22-year-old Robert Crimo III remains in custody after being indicted on 117 felony charges — including 21 counts of first-degree murder.

On Monday, WTTW News launches a new initiative, “A Safer City.” In an effort to help facilitate the complicated but necessary conversation around violence, we aim to explore violence in all its forms with depth and nuance.