Kankakee, Illinois

Kankakee, Illinois Theakake
City
City of Kankakee
Kankakee County Courthouse, in Kankakee, Illinois
Kankakee, Illinois Location of Kankakee within Illinois
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Kankakee
Established	1853
Incorporated (city)	1865
Government
• Type	Mayor-Council
• Mayor	Nina Epstein (R)
• City Council	14 aldermen
Area
• Total	14.62 sq mi (37.9 km2)
• Land	14.14 sq mi (36.6 km2)
• Water	0.480 sq mi (1.24 km2)
Elevation	656 ft (200 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	27,537
• Estimate (2012)	27,349
• Density	1,900/sq mi (730/km2)
Demonym(s)	Kankakeean
Time zone	CST (UTC-6)
• Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	60901
Area code(s)	815, 779
FIPS code	17-38934
GNIS feature ID	411300
Website	www.citykankakee-il.gov

Kankakee ([ˌkæŋkəˈki]) is a city in and the county seat of Kankakee County, Illinois, United States. The city's name is probably derived from the Miami-Illinois word teeyaahkiki, meaning: "Open country/exposed land/land in open/land exposed to view," in reference to the area's prior status as a marsh. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,537. Kankakee is a principal city of the Kankakee-Bourbonnais-Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Kankakee County.

History

The area of Kankakee was inhabited by the Potawatami beginning sometime in the 18th century. In 1833 the Potawatami signed a treaty with the United States government, agreeing to leave the region and move west. Kankakee was founded in 1854.

Geography

Kankakee is located at (41.12, −87.86).

According to the 2010 census, Kankakee has a total area of 14.62 square miles (37.87 km²), of which 14.14 square miles (36.62 km²) (or 96.72%) is land and 0.48 square miles (1.24 km²) (or 3.28%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1880	5,651		—
1890	9,025		59.7%
1900	13,595		50.6%
1910	13,986		2.9%
1920	16,753		19.8%
1930	20,620		23.1%
1940	22,241		7.9%
1950	25,856		16.3%
1960	27,666		7.0%
1970	27,575		−0.3%
1980	29,633		7.5%
1990	30,944		4.4%
2000	27,491		−11.2%
2010	27,537		0.2%
Est. 2014	26,860		−2.5%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census of 2000, there were 27,561 people, 10,020 households and 6,272 families residing within the city. The population density was 2,239.8 people per square mile (865.1/km²). There were 10,965 housing units at an average density of 893.4 per square mile (345.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 50.92% White, 41.07% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 5.50% from other races, and 1.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.25% of the population.

There were 10,020 households out of which 34.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.4% were married couples living together, 21.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.28.

In the city the population was spread out with 29.5% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,469, and the median income for a family was $36,428. Males had a median income of $30,894 versus $22,928 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,479. About 18.1% of families and 21.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.3% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Civil War Memorial by the Courthouse

Kankakee is governed by the mayor council system. The city council consists of fourteen members who are elected from seven wards (two per ward). The mayor and city clerk are elected in a citywide vote. Library service is provided by the Kankakee Public Library.

Transportation

Aerial view of Kankakee. The confluence of Iroquois River and Kankakee River is visible on the left edge of the frame.

Airport

Kankakee is served by the Greater Kankakee Airport, a general aviation facility located in the southern portion of Kankakee.

Railroads

Amtrak provides service to Kankakee from the Kankakee Amtrak Station. Amtrak operates the City of New Orleans, the Illini, and the Saluki with each train running once daily in both directions.

Highways

Interstate 57 runs east-west in the southern part of the city and turns north-south in the eastern part of Kankakee. United States Highways US 45 and US 52 run concurrently forming, along with Illinois Route IL 50, the major north-south thoroughfares through Kankakee. Illinois Route IL 17 is the major east-west road the bisects the city.

Public transportation

The River Valley Metro Mass Transit District operates the region's transit bus system. Service runs seven days a week to locations in Kankakee as well as the nearby cities of Aroma Park, Bradley, Bourbonnais, and Manteno. All of the Kankakee routes are stationed out of the Chestnut & North Schuyler Transfer Station.

Kankakee Valley Park District

Kankakee Valley Park District has 28 parks, comprising a total of 600 acres (2.4 km²). Facilities include a vita course, an ice skating rink, five field houses, a civic auditorium, 96-slip marina, 13 baseball diamonds, 15 football fields, 24 playgrounds, 15 basketball courts, 24 tennis courts, five boat landings, a bandshell and 25 recreational groups and clubs.

Education

Higher education

Organized in 1966 by a group of citizens, Kankakee Community College was established to provide a post-secondary educational resource for the people of the Kankakee area. The college offered its first classes in September 1968. It serves as an educational, vocational, and recreational center for residents of Community College District 520, an area encompassing all or part of Kankakee County, Iroquois County, Ford County, Grundy County, Livingston County, and Will County and serving a population of approximately 150,000. In its College Credit Division, KCC awards associate degrees, associate in Applied Science degrees and certificates of completion. Students attend KCC both to prepare to transfer to four-year institutions and complete bachelor's degrees and to prepare to enter the job market directly from KCC. Kankakee Community College serves over 6,000 students annually and the average class size is 16. The ratio of part-time to full-time students at Kankakee Community College is 3 to 1.

Primary and secondary education

Public schools are part of the Kankakee School District 111. In Kankakee, there are seven elementary schools (Aroma Park, Edison, Lafayette, Mark Twain, Montessori, Steuben, and Taft), two middle schools (Kennedy and King), one junior high school (Kankakee Junior High), and one high school (Kankakee High) in the district. Kankakee is also home to three private high schools: Bishop Martin D. McNamara (Catholic), Grace Baptist Academy (nondenominational), and Kankakee Trinity Academy (inter-denominational ).

In popular culture

• David Letterman donated two gazebos to Kankakee in 1999 after the city was rated the worst metropolitan area in the country to live
• The movie The Unborn" (2009) was partially filmed in Samuel H. Shapiro Developmental Center in Kankakee. Other movies to have been filmed in Kankakee County are The Hunter (1980), Child's Play (1988), Chain Reaction (1996), Road to Perdition (2002), Adia (2006, short film), The Missing Peace (2006, short film), The Merry Gentleman (2008), and Demon Joe" (2009).
• Kankakee is mentioned in several songs, including:
  • "Innocent Bessie Brown", words and music by Irving Berlin, written in 1910, sung by the Broadway performer Ethel Green
  • "They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back from the Dead!! Ahhhh!", words and music by Sufjan Stevens, from his 2005 album "Illinois".
  • "City of New Orleans", words and music by Steve Goodman.
  • "Lydia the Tattooed Lady", words and music by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg, first sung by Groucho Marx in "At The Circus."
• This American Life on April 10, 2015, analysed Kankakee and its title of the worst city in America.

Culture

• The April 1997 issue of Reader's Digest ranked Kankakee the 18th best city in the country to raise a family in a comparison of 301 metropolitan areas in the U.S. The ratings were based on the factors that parents who were surveyed indicated were important for raising a family: low crime rate, low rate of drug or alcohol problems, quality public schools, health care, and environment, cost of living, economic growth, college availability and proximity to major city, and other considerations.
• In 1999, Kankakee County was rated last out of 354 metropolitan areas ranked in the United States and Canada by the Places Rated Almanac. Late night television host David Letterman gave the city two identical gazebos, hoping the town could turn itself around as the "Home Of The Twin Gazebos". The gazebos can still be seen in front of the Kankakee County Courthouse. City leaders have since improved on the ranking by bringing in a water park, ice rink, revitalizing downtown, and other community improvement projects. Robert Bruss, who reviewed the Places Rated Almanac for Tribune Media Services, found the Places Rated Almanac to be "woefully lacking in accurate information."
• Frank Lloyd Wright designed two houses in the Riverview section of the city, located on South Harrison Ave. The B. Harley Bradley House and the Warren Hickox House both still stand today.
• The current Kankankee courthouse was built from 1909 to 1912 in the Neo-classical Revivalist style in the wake of the 1893 Columbian Exposition (the Chicago World's Fair) as part of the City Beautiful movement. The architect was Zachary Taylor Davis who had previously worked with Frank Lloyd Wright when both worked as draftsmen for Louis Sullivan.
• Kankakee is also home to the Kankakee Valley Theatre Association. This organization provides quality theatrical entertainment to the surrounding community. They put on an average of five shows a year, including two (2) youth productions under their children's theatre: Young Peoples Theatre (YPT).

Kankakee River

Main article: Kankakee River

Kankakee River

US 45 & 52 – South Washington Street crossing the Kankakee River in flood.

The Kankakee River is a river that runs through Kankakee. It is approximately 133 miles long and is a major attraction and is viewed as a defining landmark of Kankakee. The Kankakee River provides the town vital resources and an economic boost. The river water is refined at the Kankakee water company, and electricity is generated at the Kankakee River Dam. The fishing also provides a tourist attraction for outdoors men and women alike.

See also

• List of people from Kankakee
• Kankakee River
• Kankakee Outwash Plain

References

• List of Kankakee Valley Park District Activities and Offerings
• Description of Kankakee from Illinois.com

External links

• Official City page
• Kankakee Regional Chamber of Commerce
• The St. Joseph-Kankakee Portage--Its Location and Use by Marquette, La Salle and the French Voyageurs by George A. Baker, 1899, page 11
• "Kankakee Knows What's Coming," Life magazine, vol. 30, no. 1, January 1, 1951