Waukegan, Illinois Waukegan, Illinois City of Waukegan Downtown Waukegan Skyline Downtown Waukegan Skyline Waukegan /w ki n/ is a town/city and the governmental center of county of Lake County, Illinois, United States. It is part of the Chicago Metropolitan Area.
As of the 2013 census estimate, the town/city had a populace of 88,826. It is the ninth-largest town/city in Illinois by population.
The site of present-day Waukegan was recorded as Riviere du Vieux Fort ("Old Fort River") and Wakaygagh on a 1778 map by Thomas Hutchins.
The name "Waukegance" and then "Waukegan" (meaning "little fort"; cf.
In 1853, inhabitants memorialized the anniversary of emancipation of slaves in the British Empire with a meeting. Waukegan arguably has the distinct ion of being the only place where Abraham Lincoln floundered to finish a speech; when he campaigned in the town in 1860, a fire alarm rang, and the man soon-to-be president had his words interrupted. Waukegan's evolution began in many ways with the arrival of Washburn & Moen, a barbed-wire manufacturer that prompted both workforce migration and territory speculation beginning in 1891. Immigrants followed, mostly hailing from southeastern Europe and Scandinavia, with especially large groups from Sweden, Finland, and Lithuania. The town also became home to a considerable Armenian population. One member of this community, Monoog Curezhin, even became embroiled in an aborted plot to assassinate Sultan Abdul Hamid II, reviled for his involvement in massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
The Sherman's inhabitants fled for their lives as the military members carried torches, gasoline, and the American flag. The Waukegan police once again turned them away, but not before firing and wounding two members of the crowd. The police were not always so willing to protect Waukegan's people.
Noted organized crime figure Johnny Torrio served time in Waukegan's Lake County jail in 1925.
The town/city retained a distinct industrialized character in contrast to many of the residentiary suburbs along Chicago's North Shore. The unequal distribution of richness created by the disappearance of manufacturing from the town/city in part contributed to the Waukegan Riot of 1966.
Central to this event and the remainder of Waukegan's 20th century history was Robert Sabonjian, who served as mayor for 24 years, and earned the nickname the "Mayor Daley of Waukegan" for his personal and sometimes controversial style of politics. Waukegan is positioned at 42 22 13 N 87 52 16 W (42.3703140, -87.8711404). Waukegan is on the shore of Lake Michigan, about 8 miles (13 km) south of the border with Wisconsin and 40 miles (64 km) north of downtown Chicago, at an altitude of about 715 feet (218 m) above sea level. According to the 2010 census, Waukegan has a total region of 23.879 square miles (61.85 km2), of which 23.67 square miles (61.31 km2) (or 99.12%) is territory and 0.209 square miles (0.54 km2) (or 0.88%) is water. According to Waukegan's 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the town/city were: 2 Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 1,900 9 City of Waukegan 508 The first step in the revitalization accomplishment, the opening of the Genesee Theatre, has been completed, many new restaurants have opened, buildings have been renovated, and the City of Waukegan has made substantial investments in the pedestrian areas and other infrastructure.
Art - Wauk (Art - Walk) is an art event that happens every third Saturday of the month in Downtown Waukegan.
Art - Wauk features paintings, sculptures, films, dance, theatre, comedy, music, performance art, food, pedicabs, all in the Waukegan Arts District in Downtown Waukegan.
The Fiestas Patrias Parade and Festival in Downtown Waukegan highlights and jubilates the independence of the many Hispanic countries that are represented in Waukegan, including Mexico, Belize, Honduras, etc.
Holiday - WAUK (Holiday - Walk) is Downtown Waukegan's holiday festival.
Downtown Waukegan Downtown Waukegan is the urban center of Lake County.
Many restaurants, bars, shops, the Waukegan Public Library, the College of Lake County, the Lake County Courthouse (including the William D.
Block Memorial Law Library), and much more call Downtown Waukegan their home.
Waukegan Harbor, with OMC (purple), WCP (red), and Johns-Manville (yellow) Superfund sites Waukegan contains three Superfund sites of hazardous substances that are on the National Priorities List.
In 1975, PCBs were identified in Waukegan Harbor sediments.
Investigation revealed that amid manufacturing activities at Outboard Marine Corporation (OMC), hydraulic fluids including PCBs had been discharged through floor drains at the OMC plant, directly to Waukegan Harbor and into ditches discharging into Lake Michigan. The OMC plants were later added to the National Priorities List, and was designated as one of 43 Great Lakes Areas of Concern.
During the OMC cleanup, additional soil contaminants were found at the locale of the former Waukegan Manufactured Gas and Coke company.
The book Lake Effect by Nancy Nichols gives an account of the effects of PCBs on Waukegan residents.
Main article: List of citizens from Waukegan, Illinois Waukegan is the hometown of comedian Jack Benny (1894 1974), one of the 20th century's most notable and enduring entertainers, but although he claimed for decades on his radio and tv shows to have been born there, he was actually born at Mercy Hospital in Chicago.
Mary Livingstone: Aren't you going to bring your show to Waukegan? Jack Benny: Mary, I was born in Waukegan how can you follow that?!.
They say that I put Waukegan on the map.
Nevertheless, Benny did put Waukegan on the map for millions of his listeners (and later viewers) over the years, and the improve was proud of his success.
A Waukegan middle school is titled in his honor (which he said was the greatest thrill he had ever experienced), and a statue of him, dedicated in 2002, stands in the downtown facing the Genesee Theater, which hosted the world premiere of his film Man about Town in 1939, with Jack, Mary, Dorothy Lamour, Phil Harris, Andy Devine, Don Wilson and Rochester (Eddie Anderson) appearing onstage.
Jack Benny's family lived in a several buildings in Waukegan amid the time he was burgeoning up there, but the home at 518 Clayton Street is the only one of them that still stands.
The science-fiction author and romancier Ray Bradbury was born in Waukegan, and though he moved with his family to the west coast while still a child, many of his stories explicitly build on Waukegan (often called Green Town in his stories, such as Dandelion Wine) and his formative years there. Ray Bradbury Park, positioned at 99 N.
In Waukegan, is titled after him.
Waukegan is served by the Waukegan Public School District 60.
Waukegan has three early childhood schools, fifteen elementary schools, five middle schools, and three high school campuses.
The multi-campus Waukegan High School serves high school students.
Martin de Porres High School, a private Catholic high school, is in Waukegan.
Waukegan has a port precinct which operates the town/city harbor and county-wide airport.
Waukegan Harbor: The Lake County Mc - Clory recreational trail passes through Waukegan.
Metra provides service between Waukegan and downtown Chicago via the Union Pacific/North Line.
Pace provides enhance bus service throughout Waukegan and encircling areas.
The Waukegan Fire Department provides fire protection and paramedic services for city.
Ray Bradbury spent his childhood in Waukegan and used it as the basis for Green Town, the setting of three of his books: Dandelion Wine, Farewell Summer, and Something Wicked This Way Comes.
In his essay "Just This Side of Byzantium" and poem "Byzantium, I come not from," Bradbury explains the relationship between Green Town and his memories of Waukegan.
Eleanor Taylor Bland is an author of crime fiction taking place in "Lincoln Prairie" an amalgam of Waukegan, North Chicago, and Zion. Waukegan's Amstutz Expressway, locally known as the "Expressway to Nowhere", has been used as a shooting locale for such films as Groundhog Day, The Ice Harvest, The Blues Brothers, Contagion and Batman Begins.
In their novel Stardance, Spider & Jeanne Robinson refer to Waukegan as if it were a prototypical Earth location, as identified by gravity vs.
Waukegan is the town/city in which the new Disney channel series "I Didn't Do It (TV series)" is set.
Tom Waits mentions Waukegan in the song "Gun Street Girl" from his album Rain Dogs (1985): "He left Waukegan at the slammin' of the door".
Although there is no official sister town/city relationship, Waukegan is home to approximately 6,000 citizens from Tonatico, Mexico, as stated to a February 2017 article in the Washington Post.
Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: City of Waukegan a b "Waukegan (city), Illinois".
"All cities, towns, villages and unincorporated places in Illinois of more than 15,000 inhabitants.".
"Waukegan has City's Din Amid Rural Scenes".
"Wild Activity at Waukegan: the Town is Fairly Overrun with Enthusiastic Acre Speculators".
Waukegan Historical Society.
"Waukegan: It's Working Man's Town - and How! "Armenians in Waukegan - St.
Waukegan Historical Society.
"Sailors Riot in Waukegan Race Clash".
"2 Marines Shot as Sailors and Police Clash: Waukegan Site of New Race Riot".
"'Mayor Daley of Waukegan' Back to Show 'Em Who's Boss".
City of Waukegan AFR.
"Waukegan Harbor River Area of Concern".
"Jack Benny at Best on Waukegan Show".
The Waukegan Historical Society Waukegan Landmarks.
"Waukegan Harbor".
"Sister Cities Waukegan, Illinois, USA & Kiyotake-cho, Miyazaki-gun, Japan".
City Of Waukegan, City Hall.
City of Waukegan Waukegan, Illinois
Categories:
Waukegan, Illinois - 1829 establishments in Illinois - Chicago urbane region - Cities in Illinois - Cities in Lake County, Illinois - County seats in Illinois - Populated places established in 1829 - Populated places on the Great Lakes
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