Is Kankakee really that bad???? (Aurora, Joliet: travel, job, crime)

[LoveJesus]

I may be getting a good job in Kankakee, but am scared after reading it was voted the worst city in the U.S at one time. I plan on living outside of the city, hopefully in the country and just working in the city itself.
Any opinions? Thank you.

[Georgia]

All I can say is when I lived in Illinois, everytime I brought up Kankakee the natives would cringe

Went in the town on business a few times. I did cringe a little, but I have seen much worse in my travels
Understand it has major drug issues.

Maybe some local folks can comment

[Steve-o]

Its often rated one of the worst cities in the USA... I think there are far worse cities (ever been to Nogales, Arizona???), but thats just my opinion.

[LoveJesus]

But WHY is it the worst?
Thank you

[Jons99]

Its not bad, comparable to Joliet, Elgin and Aurora in terms of crime.. While it was rated as the worst place to live, it was also rated by Readers Digest a few years ago as one of the top 10 places to raise a family. Also remember about the worst place to live, that was for metro areas with 100K or more people, the Kankakee area has about 103K, so obviously it doesn't have the culture, recreation and shopping that the other places do.

I would avoid living in Kankakee school district, would look into Bourbonais, Manteno or the section of Kankakee that attends Herscher schools. Or even Herscher if you want a small, country feel.

[LoveJesus]

Thank you for your replies. I am not afraid to move there now. Places get better or worse as the years roll on. If it started out bad, it is probably on its way up to much better. I have lived in cities that were great, and then went down hill.

[Drover]

Best advice one can suggest is, go check it out. If you find Kankakee itself is not to your liking, you can always shop around in one of the numerous surrounding communities. You're bound to find something that fits.

[guvjim]

I lived in Kankakee for some years. certain parts of town have major drug problems. The schools, were not the best. Then I moved to Bradley, much better, then to Bourbonnais. The highschool in Bradley/Burbonnais is a community high school shared by both towns. I liked them much better than Kankakee. The three towns are joined together, on one side of the street is Kankakee,the other side is Bradley, then right into Bourbonnais. I now live in Manteno, and while it is only about 10 miles to the north, it is a nice quiet, but fast growing town. As someone has already said, just check it out.

[spkrman]

Originally Posted by guvjim

I lived in Kankakee for some years. certain parts of town have major drug problems. The schools, were not the best. Then I moved to Bradley, much better, then to Bourbonnais. The highschool in Bradley/Burbonnais is a community high school shared by both towns. I liked them much better than Kankakee. The three towns are joined together, on one side of the street is Kankakee,the other side is Bradley, then right into Bourbonnais. I now live in Manteno, and while it is only about 10 miles to the north, it is a nice quiet, but fast growing town. As someone has already said, just check it out.

I'd say this is very accurate!

I've been through kankakee on many occasions... and it seems as long as you stay north or outside of the more "urban" areas your just fine.

I had definitely heard some crazy stories about the bad areas from the natives when I had my shop down in st anne . St anne, btw, is just too far out there and too tight knit/small townish for me.

[meads]

Originally Posted by Jons99

Its not bad, comparable to Joliet, Elgin and Aurora in terms of crime.. While it was rated as the worst place to live, it was also rated by Readers Digest a few years ago as one of the top 10 places to raise a family. Also remember about the worst place to live, that was for metro areas with 100K or more people, the Kankakee area has about 103K, so obviously it doesn't have the culture, recreation and shopping that the other places do.

I would avoid living in Kankakee school district, would look into Bourbonais, Manteno or the section of Kankakee that attends Herscher schools. Or even Herscher if you want a small, country feel.

If you streotype than you think its bad. It isn't as bad as it was in the 90's