| City of Kankakee (Theakake) | |
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Kankakee County Courthouse, in Kankakee, Illinois
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| Country | United States |
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| State | Illinois |
| County | Kankakee |
| Elevation | 654 ft (199.3 m) |
| Coordinates | |
| 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 |
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Location of Kankakee within Illinois
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Location of Illinois in the United States
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| Website: www.citykankakee-il.gov | |
Kankakee is a city in Kankakee County, Illinois, USA. The city's name comes from a native word "Theakake", meaning wolf.[1] 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.[2] Kankakee is a principal city of the Kankakee–Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Kankakee County.
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Kankakee is located at (41.12, −87.86)[3].
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.
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 5,651 |
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| 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[4] 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.
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. Kankakee and Bradley have libraries. PC's available if you get a card. Must have a bill, unless you have a friend.
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.
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.[5]
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.[6]
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.
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 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 Grey, Randy Spears (Actor) and Richard Harper, drummer of the Chicago-based rock groups Plastics Hi-Fi, The Sam Saunders Machine, and Team Band.
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