Is Kankakee really that bad???? (Chicago, Joliet: environment, lawyer, relocate)

[MorganGrey]

You know, I moved to Kankakee as an adult. I grew up in a very nice suburb on the Northwest side of Chicago. Yes, Kankakee is a more depressed area economically than I am used to, but I don't regret buying a home here for one second.

Someone posted that schools are the weak point of Kankakee. I SO beg to differ. The educational offerings in the school district are very strong. Not all students may choose to benefit from those offerings, but for the students who want to apply themselves, Kankakee offers a top-notch education. The rigor of the courses is very high.

Don't listen to the people who try to steer you away from Kankakee and towards nearby places. Crime happens anywhere. I for one would prefer to live in an area with a paid fire department. Try finding that anywhere else nearby. Political corruption? I'm not saying it doesn't occur here or anywhere else, but it's not the usual way of doing things here.

Ease up on Kankakee. I'm living here very happily, working in Kankakee, and enjoying life.

[evrythang4u]

I can say that I was born in Kankakee, IL...I am now 34 years old. My mom moved the family to San Diego when I was 15 years of age back in '89. k3 was just then starting to get bad from all the drugs and so forth. Now that I'm an adult and my father and a great aunt still resides in K3 i am forced to go back every year and some time twice a year. Me personally I could never move back or stay more than 3 days. Very boring, country and most of all it looks like a ghost town. I have friends that still reside in K3, My cousin is a RN, a good friend works for the city council and she has to live in the K3. All I can if you have never left K3 and visited somewhere else that is all you know.

[RWA]

Originally Posted by MorganGrey

Someone posted that schools are the weak point of Kankakee. I SO beg to differ. The educational offerings in the school district are very strong. Not all students may choose to benefit from those offerings, but for the students who want to apply themselves, Kankakee offers a top-notch education. The rigor of the courses is very high.

I absolutely agree with this. Being a student at the high school, I myself can admit that a fight may occur every other week or so. However, why would this stop the students not involved in the fights from excelling academically? I personally attend classes with a large proportion of students who are dedicated to preparing for their future and college life. To my knowledge, not one student in the Honors classes has ever been involved in a fight.

This is insider information, not anything one would read in the Daily Journal, Kankakee's local newspaper. The Journal always likes to emphasize the success of Bradley Bourbonnais High School and Herscher High School, but never Kankakee. IMHO, I think people are afraid to admit that anything positive can come out of a community with much diversity.

One more thing... To the person who mentioned there being crazy people on the Metra Bus.. This little fact is true. During my little segment of time riding the Metra, I was constantly bothered by a certain elderly man who always seemed to be riding the Bus. Thank goodness for cars!

[Markxxx]

Kankakee is actually very nice IF you have a job. That is the main problem, unemployment. Kankakee is not served by a commuter line like other edge cities as Joliet, Aurora, Waukegan, Elgin or Gary IN, so it never grew.

It feels a bit isolated, indeed you can even get Channel 3 from Champaign over the air and on cable. But the biggest issue with Kankakee is that it has few options for jobs. If you have a job that pays well you can do very nicely in Kankakee. In fact Rush Hospital (a huge teaching hospital in Chiacgo) has an affiliate in Kankakee and if you don't mind driving to Univeristy Park you can catch the train to do stuff in Chicago. Of course why not just drive to Chicago.

The South suburbs of Chicago went downhill with the collapse of the steel and manufacturing industries and nothing ever replaced them. So their economies suffered. I recall since 1967 Chicago's been talking about building a third airport in the South burbs. But it's too far and though Chicago's South burbs aren't exceptionally black they have a reputation for being much more black then they are and that scares white people into heading to the SW (as in Joliet.)

The oddest thing about Kankakee is it is definately part of the Chicagoland area but is also isolated too so your news and TV comes from there but it's got an independend feel

[GivMeABreak]

I am a Spankakee native and when people were putting bumper stickers on their cars that read "Kankakee, last one out, turn off the lights", they were not kidding. There is very little downtown and any new ventures are finding it difficult to operate. The east and north sides are very scary and boarding up of houses is an every week occurrence. I've moved to the outskirts and my children attend a private school, which is very pricy, but yet, safe ! It's a shame that when the town is brought up in a conversation that people ask about an ex corrupt governor or some other poltical slime ball. We have had our share of corruption !

[At1WithNature]

yes, it is that bad. a lot of the people there are on government aid and just rob and do drugs for a living. i would say that atleast 50% of the residents in Kankakee have ties to the West Side or South Side of Chicago somewhere in their family. a lot of the younger people (20-35) are in fact transplants from crime ridden and poor neighborhoods in chicago. some of them are very good people but others still have the street mentality.

[Jons99]

The Kankakee schools, especially at the junior high and high school level are the most disturbing places I have ever been to. There is a very good reason that people pay good money to move out of 111 to BBCHS and Herscher school districts. Perhaps the reason the school is crappy is because people don't realize how bad it is.

[At1WithNature]

Originally Posted by Jons99

By comparison, a house in Frankfort that will cost you $500K will cost you $300K if you drive 20 minutes south into Kankakee County. That is the appealing part of Kankakee County. We have been down looking at houses, didn't see any bad sections, but we stayed in Bradley and Bourbonnais, which seem to be growing quite well. If you want value and trying to escape a little, its a super nice option..

The only part of Kankakee I would consider living in would be the part that attends Herscher schools.

no offense but you don't get any of the negatives of kankakee if you speak of the frankfort area and maybe that explains the price differential. frankfort is the antithesis of kankakee and that is why the prices are different. frankfort has some of the best schools (top 3) in the state. kankakee on the other hand has drug and prostitution problems...something frankfort has never had. frankfort is about a quarter the size kankakee, has more to offer since its' neighboring communties are new lenox, orland park, ect. bernie mac (comedian, actor) has a house in Prestwick Country Club (right off of Harlem Avenue south of Rt. 30) in Frankfort. Plus the drummer for the band STYX lives there too. i don't think you can find celebrities living in kankakee like that unless they are former NBA ballers who lost all of their money to crack. frankfort also has a ridiculously competent police force since they don't have much trouble but a ton of money. there are million dollar homes in frankfort in places like Butternut and Prestwick but there are also 250,000 dollar homes just west of matteson.

i worked in manteno for 3 years. it's a very nice community but manteno, monee, bourbonnais, and bradley are nothing like kankakee.

[At1WithNature]

when i speak of kankakee, i speak of what sticks out. and the bad areas stick out. you know the saying, the bad apple ruins the bunch. but i am sure there are very nice communties within the fairly large city of Kankakee.

[nickz]

1.) Kankakee is a very broadly used term. It often encompasses the two neighboring cities of Bradley and Bourbonnais. People say that Kankakee is a bad place. They often forget out Bradley and Bourbonnais. Bourbonnais is actually a fairly nice city I go there about 3 or 4 times a week for the Dairy Queen and other little shops they have there. Olivet Nazarene University is also a very nice local college and is located in either Bradley of Bourbonnais. I cant recall which one. The school system is not bad at all. Children can choose to receive education if it is available, which it is. Theyre just unmotivated. They dont seem to care. That is not the fault of the public school system Id just like to add.

2.) I think its hilarious when people say "Ohh. My son or daughter goes to Mac (the private school referred to in a previous post). This school might be private and expensive but it is also over packed and drug rampant. Students have had to share lockers in the past because of over crowding. I would choose BBCHS (Bradley Bourbonnais Community High School) over Mac anyday.

3.) Kankakee is an area to stay away from at night ofcourse, but they do have the two main hospitals of the area and some nice parks along the river. Bird Park is an example along with Alpiner Park (host to most of the cities youth baseball games) Butterfield Park is home to a majority of the youth softball leagues.

4.) The main problem with Kankakee is that people always want to build out. Instead of revitalizing the city center with new housing developments. They take the safer chance at success and just continue to expand. This is like a virus. As the drugs and crime from the city center start to rub off on the suburbs they too turn into drug and crime ridden places. Then more suburbs are built away from the danger. And it spreads again. If they want to fix the problem they need to strike at the source. The heart of Kankakee, out by the Industrial Park and North and Western Suburbs. The area by the Paramount and Public Library (also known as "downtown") isnt so bad.

5.) Kankakee also has a thriving Historical District. One of the lesser seen sides of the city. I love going there and taking walks along the river or going to one of the many parks, equipped with tennis courts, basketball courts, and along the river, jetties for boat service. Naturally, Kankakee knows how to take care of its upper class just like any city. Historical District is definitely a safe place to walk around at night.

6.) The metro area is also trying to make changes to improve the city. This includes nightly classes in English at KCC (Kankakee Community College, another College of the area) for the Spanish Population. Kankakee has opened its arms to new business and as I speak there are already two new Wal-Marts open, a Target, Avenue, multiple Starbucks. Public libraries galore. Many new eating establishments can also be seen driving down one of the local avenues. Examples such as Buffalo Wild Wings, Olive Garden, and many others. The city is already home to a mall which although doesnt have many "popular" stores, it is on the rise. Huge houses are continually going up on the outskirts. Nice little gated communities with green lawns and long drive ways. Low housing prices continue to draw in more and more people from the Northern Suburbs.

7.) Metra Rail is supposedly extending a rail line down to Kankakee's Train Station, which is currently served by Amtrak. The city has also started a public transportation which includes busing for citizens and a few cabs can also be seen dotting the roads.

8.) I live in Herscher, a small city roughly 20 miles outside of the Kankakee area and I really like going to the city for a night out on the town at one of the many hip new restaurants. They have some decent shopping for middle class people and in general the people are pretty nice. They put on a tough exterior but if you actually take the time to stop and talk to some of them youll find that everyones really friendly.