Waukegan, city, seat of Lake County, northeastern Illinois, a port on Lake Michigan; incorporated 1859. It is a residential, commercial, and manufacturing center; products include outboard motors, electronic components, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. Shimer College (1853) and the Jack Benny Center for the Performing Arts are here, as well as a large amusement park. A Potawatomi village and later a French outpost occupied the site before the present community, initially called Little Fort, was founded about 1835. Its present name, derived from the Potawatomi term for “little fort,” was adopted in 1849. Population 67,653 (1980); 69,392 (1990); 87,901 (2000).
