Kankakee, Illinois

City of Kankakee (Theakake)
City
Kankakee County Courthouse, in Kankakee, Illinois
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Kankakee
Elevation	654 ft (199.3 m)
Coordinates	41.12°N 87.86°W / 41.12; -87.86
Area	12.8 sq mi (33.15 km2)
- land	12.3 sq mi (32 km2)
- water	0.5 sq mi (1 km2), 3.91%
Population	26,840 (2009)
Density	2,239.8 / sq mi (864.8 / km2)
Democracy	1853
Mayor	Nina Epstein
Timezone	CST (UTC-6)
- summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
Postal code	60901
Area code	815/779
Location of Kankakee within Illinois
Location of Illinois in the United States
Website: www.citykankakee-il.gov

Kankakee is a city in Kankakee County, Illinois, USA. The city's name probably comes from the comes 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 2000 census, the city population was 25,561, and 26,840 as of a 2009 estimate. It is the county seat of Kankakee County. Kankakee is a principal city of the Kankakee–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 forcing them to leave the region. Kankakee was founded in 1854.

Geography

Kankakee is located at 41°7′12″N 87°51′36″W (41.12, −87.86).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.8 square miles (33 km²), of which, 12.3 square miles (32 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) of it (3.76%) is water.

Demographics

Historical populations
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%

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% have 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

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.^{[citation needed]} Library service is provided by the Kankakee Public Library. Kankakee and Bradley have libraries. PC's available if you get a card. Must have a bill, unless you have a friend.

Rail transportation

See also: Kankakee (Amtrak station)

Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, provides service to Kankakee. Amtrak Train 59 (the southbound City of New Orleans), is scheduled to depart Kankakee at 9:23 pm daily with service to Champaign-Urbana, Mattoon, Effingham, Centralia, Carbondale, Fulton, Newbern-Dyersburg, Memphis, Greenwood, Yazoo City, Jackson, Hazlehurst, Brookhaven, McComb, Hammond, and New Orleans. Amtrak Train 58, the northbound City of New Orleans, is scheduled to depart Kankakee at 7:13 am daily with service to Homewood and Chicago. Kankakee is also served by Amtrak Train 390/391, the Saluki, daily in the morning, and Amtrak Train 392/393, the Illini, daily in the afternoon/evening. Both the Saluki and the Illini operate between Chicago and Carbondale.

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

Kankakee Valley Park District

Kankakee Valley Park District has 28 parks with a total of 600 acres (2.4 km²) all together. Facilities include a vita course, an ice skating rink, 5 Field houses, Civic Auditorium, 96-slip marina, 13 baseball diamonds, 15 football fields, 24 playgrounds, 15 basketball courts, 24 tennis courts, 5 boat landings, a bandshell, and 25 recreational groups and clubs.

College

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.

High schools

Civil War Memorial by the Courthouse

The City of Kankakee is home to 4 high schools, Kankakee High School, Bishop Martin D. McNamara, Grace Baptist Academy and Kankakee Trinity Academy. Kankakee High School is the public high school for the city and is the most populous school in Kankakee. Bishop McNamara, Kankakee Trinity Academy and Grace Baptist Academy are private high schools. Bishop McNamara is a Catholic high school, Kankakee Trinity Academy is a Inter-Denominational Christian School while Grace Baptist is Independent Baptist. Kankakee High has notable Math, Science, and Art departments.

In popular culture

• 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 has been immortalized in the folk song, "City of New Orleans", written by Steve Goodman. The best known version was performed by Arlo Guthrie in 1972 and appeared on the album "Hobo's Lullaby". The song tells the story of a trip on the passenger train "The City of New Orleans", originating in Chicago and stopping at Kankakee en route to New Orleans.
• Kankakee is also mentioned in several other songs, including:
  • "Lydia the Tattooed Lady" (1939) written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg. It first appeared in the 1939 Marx Brothers movie At the Circus. The song was also used in the 1940 movie The Philadelphia Story (1940), humorously performed by Virginia Weidler in the role of Dinah Lord.
  • "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 "Illinoise".

Culture

• The April 1997 issue of Reader's Digest ranked Kankakee the 18th best city in the country in which to raise a family, in comparison with 301 metropolitan areas in the U.S. The ratings were based on factors that parents who were surveyed indicated were important for raising a family, including: low crime rate, low rate of drug or alcohol problems, the quality of the public schools, health care, and environment, cost of living, economic growth, college availability and proximity to major city, among other considerations.
• In 1999, Kankakee County was rated 354th 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". City leaders have since improved on this 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 & Stable and the Warren Hickox House both still stand today.[1][2]

Kankakee River

Main article: Kankakee River

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.

Notable residents

Notable people from Kankakee include actors Fred MacMurray (Double Indemnity, My Three Sons) and Nick Adams (TV Series "The Rebel"), Olympic distance runner Joie Ray, pro football players Jimmy Smith and Ted Petersen, Major League baseball catcher Tom Prince, college basketball coach Harv Schmidt, former Illinois governors Lennington Small, Samuel H. Shapiro and George Ryan and Little Orphan Annie creator Harold Gray, and Randy Spears (Actor).

See also

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

• Kankakee River
• Kankakee Outwash Plain
• 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

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