Can the Waukegan lakefront be saved?

Is this just more false hope and promises that can’t be kept?  We’ve been hearing different plans for years to save downtown Waukegan and the lakefront but nothing ever comes to fruition.  Is it just time to give up and accept Waukegan for what it is, a formerly thriving rust belt town that has become a haven for non-owner occupants and a place where new business will never thrive?  As someone who remembers the golden years of Waukegan being a great place to live and work, I believe the ship has already sailed.  It is too late to fix the extensive damage that has already been done to a once great city.