Waukegan [key], residential and industrial city (1990 pop. 69,392), seat of Lake co., NE Ill., on Lake Michigan; inc. 1859. It has a good harbor and is the first port of call in Illinois on the St. Lawrence Seaway route. Its industries are closely allied with those of Chicago and Milwaukee. Fluorescent fixtures, electrical wire, transportation equipment, leather and paper products, and asphalt roofing materials are among the area's many manufactures. Waukegan was settled (1835) as Little Fort near an old French stockade on the site of a Native American village. Naval Station Great Lakes, the U.S. navy's main training center for naval recruits, is nearby.
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