Editing Waukegan, Illinois (section)

==History and major events==
=== Founding and 19th century ===
The site of present-day Waukegan was recorded as ''Rivière du Vieux Fort'' ("Old Fort River") and ''Wakaygagh'' on a 1778 map by [[Thomas Hutchins]]. By the 1820s, the French name had become "Small Fort River" in English, and the settlement was known as "Little Fort". The name "Waukegance" and then "Waukegan" (meaning "little fort"; cf. [[Potawatomi language|Potawatomi]] ''wakaigin'' "fort" or "fortress") was created by [[John H. Kinzie]] and [[Solomon Juneau]], and the new name was adopted on March 31, 1849.<ref>Callary, Edward. 2009. ''Place Names of Illinois''. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, p. 368.</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Chicago and North Western Railway Company|title=A History of the Origin of the Place Names Connected with the Chicago & North Western and Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railways|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OspBAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA136|year=1908|page=136}}</ref>

Waukegan had an [[abolitionist]] community dating to these early days. In 1853, residents commemorated the anniversary of [[Emancipation of the British West Indies|emancipation of slaves in the British Empire]] with a meeting.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = West India Emancipation|date = August 18, 1853|journal = The National Era (Washington, DC)}}</ref> Waukegan arguably has the distinction of being the only place where [[Abraham Lincoln]] failed to finish a speech. When he was campaigning in the town in 1860, he was interrupted by a ringing fire alarm.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Waukegan has City's Din Amid Rural Scenes|last = Fitzpatrick|first = Rita|date = June 29, 1947|journal = Chicago Daily Tribune}}</ref>

During the middle of the 19th century, Waukegan was becoming an important industrial hub. Industries included ship and wagon building, flour milling, sheep raising, pork packing, and dairying. William Besley's Waukegan Brewing Company was one of the most successful of these businesses, being able to sell beyond America.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1328.html|title=Waukegan, IL|website=encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org|access-date=January 11, 2019}}</ref> The construction of the [[Chicago and Milwaukee Railway]] through Waukegan by 1855 stimulated the growth and rapid transformation and development of the city's industry, so much that nearly 1000 ships were visiting Waukegan harbor every year.<ref name=":1"/> During the 1860s, a substantial [[German Americans|German]] population began to grow inside the city.<ref name=":1"/>

Waukegan's development began in many ways with the arrival of industries such as United States Sugar Refinery, which opened in 1890,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20100427/news/304279991/|title=Waukegan saw business boom in 1890|last=Dretske|first=Diana|date=April 27, 2010|website=Daily Herald|language=en-US|access-date=January 11, 2019}}</ref> Washburn & Moen. This barbed-wire manufacturer prompted both labor migration and land speculation beginning in 1891,<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Wild Activity at Waukegan: the Town is Fairly Overrun with Enthusiastic Acre Speculators|date = January 25, 1891|journal = Chicago Daily Tribune}}</ref> U.S. Starch Works, and Thomas Brass and Iron Works. Immigrants followed, mostly from southeastern Europe and Scandinavia, with large groups from Sweden, Finland, and Lithuania.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Places|url = http://www.waukeganhistorical.org/places|website = Waukegan Historical Society|access-date = October 10, 2015}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|title = Waukegan: It's Working Man's Town – and How! City Glories in Smoking Stacks along Lake|last = Kirkpatrick|first = Clayton|date = January 31, 1951|journal = Chicago Daily Tribune}}</ref> The town also became home to a considerable Armenian population.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Armenians in Waukegan – St. George Armenian Church|url = https://sites.google.com/site/stgeorgearmenianchurch/armenians-in-waukegan|website = sites.google.com|access-date = October 10, 2015|archive-date = November 22, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151122144742/https://sites.google.com/site/stgeorgearmenianchurch/armenians-in-waukegan}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Mirak|first=Robert|title=Torn Between Two Lands: Armenians in America, 1890 to World War I|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1983|location=Cambridge, Mass.|page=79}}</ref> 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 [[Hamidian massacres|massacres of Armenians]] in the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Curezhin lost two fingers on his right hand while testing explosives for this purpose in Waukegan in 1904.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Armenian Plotter is Taken: Chicagoan Admits Having Been Assigned to Kill the Sultan|date = August 20, 1907|journal = Chicago Daily Tribune}}</ref>

[[File:Waukegan Illinois 1920.jpg|thumb|A map of Waukegan in 1920]]

=== 20th century ===
By the 1920s and 1930s, African Americans began to migrate to the city, mostly from the [[Southern United States|South]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Places|url = http://www.waukeganhistorical.org/places/|website = Waukegan Historical Society|access-date = October 10, 2015}}</ref> The town was afflicted with racial strife. In June 1920, an African-American boy allegedly hit the car of an off-duty sailor from nearby [[Great Lakes Naval Base]] with a rock, and hundreds of white sailors gathered at Sherman House, a hotel reserved for African Americans. Although newspaper reports and rumors suggested that the officer's wife was hit with glass from the broken windshield, subsequent reports revealed that the officer was not married.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Racial Clashes, 1920|author = Chicago Commission on Race Relations}}</ref> The sailors called for lynchings, but were kept back by the intervention of the police.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Sailors Riot in Waukegan Race Clash|date = June 1, 1920|journal = Chicago Daily Tribune}}</ref>

Marines and sailors renewed their attack on the hotel several days later. The Sherman House residents fled for their lives as the military members carried torches, gasoline, and the American flag.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = 2 Marines Shot as Sailors and Police Clash: Waukegan Site of New Race Riot|date = June 3, 1920|journal = Chicago Daily Tribune}}</ref> The Waukegan police once again turned them away, but not before firing and wounding two members of the crowd.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Sailors Renew Race Riots|date = June 3, 1920|journal = New York Times}}</ref> The police were not always so willing to protect Waukegan's citizens. The chief of police and the state's attorney in the 1920s, for example, were avowed members of the [[Ku Klux Klan]], facts that came to light when a wrongfully convicted African-American war veteran was released from prison on appeal after 25 years.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Crime Non-Existent, Trial 'Sham,' Court Frees Negro After 26 Years|date = August 11, 1949|journal = New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title = Ku Kluxers Still Stalking 'Big Jim' After 25 Years|last = Coleman|first = Ted|date = September 24, 1949|journal = The Pittsburgh Courier}}</ref> Labor unrest also occurred regularly. In 1919, a strike at the US Steel and Wire Company – which had acquired Washburn & Moen – led to a call for intervention from the state militia.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = 2,000 in Riot at Waukegan|date = September 30, 1919|journal = The Washington Herald}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title = State Militia Sent|date = September 26, 1919|journal = The Daily Gate City and Constitution Democrat}}</ref>

Noted organized crime boss [[Johnny Torrio]] served time in Waukegan's Lake County jail in 1925. He installed bulletproof covers on the windows of his cell at his own expense for fear of assassination attempts.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Torrio Fortifies Jail Cell; Rumors of War|date = June 25, 1925|journal = Chicago Daily Tribune}}</ref>

The Waukegan urban area developed independently of Chicago before being officially incorporated into the Chicago metropolitan area during the [[2000 United States census|2000 census]]. This inclusion took place as a result of [[suburban sprawl]], effectively dissolving the region's identity as self-standing. Despite this, Waukegan has retained a distinct industrial character in contrast to many of the residential suburbs along Chicago's [[North Shore (Chicago)|North Shore]].<ref name=":0" /> The financial disparity created by the disappearance of manufacturing from the 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 "[[Richard J. Daley|Mayor Daley]] of Waukegan" for his personal and sometimes controversial style of politics.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = 'Mayor Daley of Waukegan' Back to Show 'Em Who's Boss|last = Myers|first = Linner|date = June 9, 1985|journal = Chicago Tribune}}</ref>

===21st century===
On Sunday, May 31, 2020, a peaceful protest in reaction to the [[George Floyd protests|George Floyd]] police shooting in Minneapolis turned violent when a portion of the protesters looted and damaged local businesses along Lewis Avenue from Glen Flora Street north into the Village of [[Beach Park, Illinois|Beach Park]]. According to local activist Ralph Peterson, who organized the earlier peaceful march moving east along Grand Avenue into the downtown area, two intoxicated locals and about five "professional provocateurs" not recognized by attendees attempted to incite to violence 50-75 protesters gathered at the corner of Glen Flora and North Lewis Avenue. Following the arrival of police, Peterson and Clyde McLemore, founder of the Lake County chapter of [[Black Lives Matter]], attempted to disperse the crowd and diffuse police confrontations. Many in the dispersed and agitated crowd then began damaging and looting local businesses near Waukegan Plaza, as well as confronting arriving police with displays of violence and damage to police vehicles. The crowd size was then estimated to have grown to several hundred.<ref name="Coleman">{{Cite web |last=Coleman |first=Emily K. |date=June 1, 2020 |title=Waukegan mayor imposes curfew amid unrest; protesters return after looters take over weekend demonstration |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2020/06/01/waukegan-mayor-imposes-curfew-amid-unrest-protesters-return-after-looters-take-over-weekend-demonstration/?clearUserState=true |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>

Businesses from Glen Flora Avenue north to Yorkhouse Road in Beach Park suffered looting of merchandise, property damage, and vandalism. In addition to the Waukegan Police Department, about 100 officers from neighboring departments and several dozen sheriff's deputies were dispatched to the area. Mayor [[Sam Cunningham (mayor)|Sam Cunningham]] issued a city-wide curfew. Five county squad cars were damaged during the confrontations, and over twenty people were arrested<ref name="Coleman"/> with no injuries reported.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Coleman |first=Emily K. |date=June 2, 2020 |title=Waukegan mayor defends city's response to unrest, says police were prepared |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2020/06/02/waukegan-mayor-defends-citys-response-to-unrest-says-police-were-prepared/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref> Upon finding that the vast majority of rioters were Waukegan residents, Cunningham stated, "That really hurts, that you would hurt your own block, your own store, your own business, your own neighborhood, city." The next day, local business owners and volunteers gathered to clean up the damage. Later on Monday, another protest was held at Waukegan Plaza, which was peaceful and caused no damage.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tribune |first=Chicago |date=June 2, 2020 |title=George Floyd fallout: Here's what happened June 1 in the Chicago area |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2020/06/02/george-floyd-fallout-heres-what-happened-june-1-in-the-chicago-area/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref> On Tuesday, local faith leaders organized a vigil to denounce looting as counterproductive while demanding justice for the shooting of George Floyd. At least one attendee and long-time resident was also present at the [[Waukegan riot of 1966|1966 Waukegan Riot]] and expressed regret that it had occurred again.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Olson |first=Yadira Sanchez |date=June 2, 2020 |title=Lake County faith leaders lead vigil to call for end to 'systemic racism' |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2020/06/02/lake-county-faith-leaders-lead-vigil-to-call-for-end-to-systemic-racism/ |access-date=November 14, 2024 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>