Waukegan Takes Forward Steps; Tower Dismantled

Ninety-seven years ago, Johnson Motors’ Outboard Marine constructed a water tower along the shores of Lake Michigan; now, with the company long gone and the water tower serving as an eye sore, the City Council unanimously voted to tear it down earlier this summer.

During the September 18 City Council meeting, the water tower met its fate when Aldermen chose to tear it down at the cost of $72,260 instead of maintaining it for over $60,000 per year. In 2017, a motion was made before the city council to give the tower land landmark status, but it was tabled, and no further action was taken. Given the fact that the water tower was not given historical landmark status, its end was sealed.

On Wednesday, October 6th, the water tower had its last days in Waukegan as the city looks to move forward from its lakefront industrial past. In the years since Johnson Motors left Waukegan, the city has received funding to clean up Waukegan Harbor, improve the beach, and is focused on economic revitalization. Waukegan is still home to industry, but it is home to mostly clean tech industry located throughout the city.

While it is yet to be seen what will happen to the numerous parcels of sizeable lakefront property, it has been made abundantly clear that Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor and the Waukegan City Council are looking to move Waukegan forward as they aggressively market the lakefront properties for future use.

While some might have thought the city’s attempt to lure the Chicago Bears was a long shot, sources from within Waukegan City Hall report that the team had reached out upon receiving the letter asking for more information about possibly bringing the Bears north into Waukegan. Of course, this is all contingent on the Bears’ negotiations with the Village of Arlington Heights, where the Bears purchased and bulldozed Arlington Park.

Either way, with the Chicago Bears or other ventures, the Waukegan lakefront of the past is in the past. The city and nonprofit partners are vigorously working to continue the cleanup of superfund sites to enable clean economic development, expand the Waukegan tax base, and help lower the tax burden placed upon current residents and businesses.

Time will tell what the future holds for the lakefront in Waukegan, but expect changes in the coming years, as the land controlled by the city along the lakefront is some of the largest available land adjacent to the Great Lakes.

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