Mayor and council proclaim National Safe Boating Week and World Migratory Bird Day, designate Piping Plover Day

The Waukegan City Council adopted proclamations recognizing National Safe Boating Week (May 17–23) and World Migratory Bird Day, and declared May 29, 2025, as official Piping Plover Day in Waukegan.

Mayor Sam Cunningham read a calendar of summer events and presented the Safe Boating Week proclamation. Representatives of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 41-05 accepted the proclamation and noted their education and safety roles on the harbor.

The council also adopted a joint proclamation recognizing World Migratory Bird Day and, specifically, honoring the return of piping plovers to Waukegan shores. Caroline Luke and representatives from the Lake County Audubon Society accepted the proclamation and told the council that two adult plovers—nicknamed Blaze and Pepper—had returned for the season and a clutch of eggs was being incubated; they also said one chick from the previous year had been sighted north of Waukegan.

“We have a full clutch of eggs and the birds will be incubating the eggs for the next month,” a Lake County Audubon representative said during the council meeting. The council encouraged residents to attend a free screening of the documentary Sharing Our Shore and the Return of the Piping Plovers to Waukegan Shores on May 29 at the Waukegan History Museum at the Carnegie.

The proclamations were adopted by unanimous voice or recorded vote; council members thanked volunteers and partner agencies for safety and conservation work at the harbor and beaches.