Chicago Aviation: One City. Many Gateways Part 5: Lake County’s Direct Line: Waukegan National Airport (UGN)

Originally posted on LinkedIn September 28, 2026

If you drive north out of Chicago along Lake Shore Drive as it merges into Route 41, the urban grid slowly gives way to the open green spaces, wooded estates, and corporate campuses of Lake County and the North Shore.

Tucked right into that northern corridor sits Waukegan National Airport (UGN). Unless you fly general aviation, you might not give UGN a second thought. But for the corporate footprint of northern Illinois, it’s one of the most strategically placed, highly capable airfields in the entire Midwest. 

Positioned roughly 35 miles north of downtown Chicago, Waukegan sits in a geographical sweet spot right between two major commercial airspace hubs: OHare (ORD) to the south and Milwaukee’s Mitchell International (MKE) to the north. 

Anyone who has ever tried to drive between Chicago and Milwaukee knows how brutal the I-94 corridor gets during peak hours. Landing at UGN places corporate teams right in the middle of that high-value business zone, completely bypassing the terminal congestion and highway bottlenecks of both major hubs. If you’ve ever pulled up to the main entrance on Ten Mile Road, you’ve probably noticed the prominent blue entrance sign. It reads Booth Memorial Field and is topped with a sleek silhouette of an F-111 Aardvark fighter jet.

That name honors Harold W. Booth, the legendary Waukegan Port District chairman whose vision through the 1960s, 70s, and 80s built the field into a heavy-jet corporate gateway.

You can read more about his legacy and his civic contributions on the Lake County Veterans Memorial tribute page.

As for the F-111 logo on the sign? It pays homage to UGN’s deep military ties—sitting just minutes down the road from Naval Station Great Lakes and holding a rich history of supporting transient military jets and government transport flights.

Walk around the general aviation ramp near the historic Stick & Rudder Club, and you’ll run into another fascinating piece of aviation history: circular concrete pads scattered across the grass.

Of the dozens of airports I’ve visited across the country, I’ve never seen anything quite like these circular T-hangars. Back in the mid-20th century, these roundhouse hangars were built on central rotating platforms. A pilot could simply rotate the internal turntable to line their aircraft up with a single main bay door and pull straight out. 

While most of the original structures have been removed—leaving behind those circular concrete bases—they remain a unique architectural nod to how GA pilots parked their planes decades ago.

Beyond business travel, UGN brings the entire local community right up to the runway every September as host of the Northern Illinois Airshow, which was sadly cancelled in 2026 due to severe weather. Thousands of aviation fans line the tarmac to watch everything from WWII warbirds to modern military jet demonstration teams roar over Lake County.

Today, UGN is a massive economic driver generating over $181 million in total economic impact for the region, supporting over 900 local jobs. 

A huge reason for that impact is who uses the field. Lake County is home to several Fortune 500 headquarters—pharmaceutical powerhouses, healthcare equipment manufacturers, and corporate campuses dotted along the North Shore. 

Major employers such as Abbott Laboratories, AbbVie, Baxter International, and Grainger rely on this region, and UGN serves as the primary flight department base for many of these global leaders, hosting long-range corporate jets that fly daily international and domestic business routes.

There is also a major operational advantage at Waukegan that many regional airfields cant match: on-site U.S. Customs.

Because UGN is designated as an official international port of entry, business teams flying in directly from Europe, Canada, or Latin America can clear customs right on the ramp.

Instead of burning time in commercial holding patterns or waiting in long customs queues at OHare, international flights step off the plane, clear customs in minutes, and hit the road. Waukegan National Airport isn't trying to compete with commercial giants like OHare or Milwaukee, and that is precisely why it works.

By offering heavy-jet capability, international customs clearance, retro general aviation charm, and unmatched proximity to the North Shores corporate corridor, UGN remains an absolute gem of a northern gateway for Midwest business travel.