Why is Kankakee so poor?

[ShampooBanana]

Originally Posted by StarsandStripes79

So what is it about the people that live in Kankakee, that show no interest in restoring their town?



Possibly the fact that the majority of the current residents relocated to Kankakee from areas such as Englewood and the projects in Chicago, and think Kankakee is much nicer than where they came from?

Most of the people that had money who grew up in Kankakee moved away. So when you have the majority of people that live in Kankakee nowdays thinking its heaven compared to where they came from, you can't tell them that the town needs improvement and that they have to pay higher taxes.



Your thoughts?



P.S. In my opinion the people that lived in Kankakee are at fault for allowing this to happen. Back in the day they had the opportunity to have University of Illinois in Kankakee. I wonder how many people wish that would have happened now? If that would have happened, the town would be much better than it is now. Do you realize how much nicer the town would be to live in if you had U of I in Kankakee? People's kids would be going to school here and they would not want them living around a town that is full of crime and run down like it is today. The people paying for their kids to go to school would not allow that to happen. Kankakee would more than likely be just like Bourbonnais is.

Agree with the first part, the second part, not so much. You realize that when they were deciding where to locate the University, it was the 1860's, right? At the time all it was going to be was an industrial college. There were maybe a hundred students and one single building. Nobody envisioned what Universities today would become, or their relative importance to economic development and vibrancy. Kankakee thought it was getting a win when it landed the state hospital for the insane (Shapiro Developmental Center) back then, which employed far more people than the rinky dink little industrial college. There's that thing about hindsight...

[linicx]

It is amazing how clear 20/20 becomes when it is hindsight.

[urza216]

People who value education never needed "hindsight" to support a college being built in thier town. Are you suggesting it was either/or? Why couldn't Kankakee could have landed both the college and the mental institution? They rejected one and accepted the other.

And no, I am not preaching about the value of education. I'm just talking about Kankakee like it is.

[butterflygirl2]

My boyfriend's kids live in Kankakee, which I had heard of but never drove through until now. We are trying to get them out of the schools and into the Chicago burbs. The schools were not impressive. They did not know how to find their transcripts which as a teacher is unheard of to me. The stories the kids tell me about the school are
strange. The town itself just seems way out there and my boyfriend's ex seems
perfectly happy with the conditions of the town. I think people just adapt to where they are. I sure am happy where I am at in comparison.

[ShampooBanana]

Originally Posted by urza216

People who value education never needed "hindsight" to support a college being built in thier town. Are you suggesting it was either/or? Why couldn't Kankakee could have landed both the college and the mental institution? They rejected one and accepted the other.

And no, I am not preaching about the value of education. I'm just talking about Kankakee like it is.

A college education then wasn't viewed as it is now. Hardly anybody had a college education back then, and in the rural midwest, which it was much was at the time, many who went to college were viewed as "elitests". That is one reason why the University of Illinois was originally founded as the Illinois Industrial College. It was to be the foundation of a more practical education in the industrial arts and agriculture, with a prominent military component, as well.

Also, it's not as though Kankakee wouldn't have taken the college, but some politically savvy folks in Urbana had the right connections and were able to sway the State legislature to locate the original campus in Urbana.

The people of Champaign-Urbana learned that the state of Illinois was looking for a place to build the downstate branch of a college to teach agriculture. They decided that the area between the towns would be just right for a college. The people elected Clark Griggs to the State Legislature, his main task to convince the government to select Champaign-Urbana as the site for this college. It was lucky when Mr. Griggs was named the head of the committee that selected the city for this branch! He was able to convince the committee to select Champaign-Urbana over the many other cities who wanted the college.
The new college was called Illinois Industrial University, and it opened in 1868 with 77 students. They lived in and took classes in the Elephant building, which the University named Old Main Hall. The University added many subjects to those it taught. It would later change its name to the University of Illinois and would grow to become one of the best universities in the nation.

Story of Champaign-Urbana

[urza216]

Both my mother (from Kankakee) and my father (from the South Side of Chicago) where THE FIRST to go to college in thier family. I still stand by my statement that people who value education would have been more open to it..

It's very unfortunate that the factories have largely closed down in Kankakee, the south suburbs and the South Side of Chicago. We shouldn't be strictly a service economy..