Overview

• Community members gathered at Van Horn Woods East in Plainfield to name a sensory playground for 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi, following a heart-shaped monument unveiled there earlier this summer.
• Interfaith and civic groups, including the Muslim Civic Coalition, Jewish Voice for Peace, and the DuPage County NAACP, joined state representatives for the dedication.
• Speakers tied the 2023 killing to dehumanizing rhetoric and referenced the war in Gaza as they urged action from officials in Springfield and Washington.
• Illinois Sen. Ram Villivalam, who sponsored the resolution, noted the day coincides with the International Day of Peace and called for protecting children from hate and discrimination.
• Wadee’s parents attended the ceremony; his mother continues to cope with trauma, and the criminal case concluded with the landlord’s conviction, a 53-year sentence, and his death in custody in June.