Kankakee County, Illinois

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Kankakee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 107,502.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its county seat is Kankakee.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Kankakee County comprises the Kankakee, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Starting in the 1770s, if not earlier, the area that is now Kankakee County was largely populated by the Potawatomi.

French Canadian Settlers came to Kankakee County in 1834, after the federal government signed the Treaty of Camp Tippecanoe in 1832. They were soon joined by migrants from New York and Vermont, mostly locating in Momence, Illinois. In the 1840s, most of the migrants were French Canadians, and they settled in such places as Bourbonnais.

An act of the Illinois Legislature created Kankakee County out of the north part of Iroquois County and the south part of Will County in February 1853. The six original townships were Yellowhead, Rockville, Bourbonnais, Momence, Aroma Park, and Limestone. The population of the new county was about 8,000. In 1855 the two western townships (Norton and Essex) were taken from Vermilion County and added to Kankakee County. The county was named for the Kankakee River.

Kankakee County at the time of its creation in 1853

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of Template:Convert, of which Template:Convert (99.3%) is land and Template:Convert (0.7%) is water.<ref name=CD/>

Climate and weather

Template:Climate chart In recent years, average temperatures in the county seat of Kankakee have ranged from a low of Template:Convert in January to a high of Template:Convert in July, although a record low of Template:Convert was recorded in January 1985 and a record high of Template:Convert was recorded in August 1988. Average monthly precipitation ranged from Template:Convert in February to Template:Convert in May.<ref name="weather" />

Adjacent counties

Will County – north
Lake County, Indiana – northeast
Newton County, Indiana – east
Iroquois County – south
Ford County – southwest
Livingston County – west
Grundy County – northwest

Demographics

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2020 census

**Kankakee County, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition**
Template:Nobold
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 1980<ref name=1980Census>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 1990<ref name=1990Census>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2000<ref name=2000CensusP004>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2010<ref name=2010CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	Pop 2020<ref name=2020CensusP2>Template:Cite web</ref>	% 1980	% 1990	% 2000	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	86,036	79,208	80,829	83,218	73,591	83.59%	82.29%	77.85%	73.35%	68.46%
Black or African American alone (NH)	14,836	14,293	15,942	16,998	15,417	14.41%	14.85%	15.35%	14.98%	14.34%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	154	140	145	187	173	0.15%	0.15%	0.14%	0.16%	0.16%
Asian alone (NH)	399	618	699	1,030	1,069	0.39%	0.64%	0.67%	0.91%	0.99%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)	x <ref>included in the Asian category in the 1980 Census</ref>	x <ref>included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census</ref>	15	32	13	x	x	0.01%	0.03%	0.01%
Other race alone (NH)	249	50	119	103	372	0.24%	0.05%	0.11%	0.09%	0.35%
Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)	x <ref>not an option in the 1980 Census</ref>	x <ref>not an option in the 1990 Census</ref>	1,125	1,714	4,347	x	x	1.08%	1.51%	4.04%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	1,252	1,946	4,959	10,167	12,520	1.22%	2.02%	4.78%	8.96%	11.65%
Total	102,926	96,255	103,833	113,449	107,502	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%	100.00%

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 113,449 people, 41,511 households, and 28,680 families residing in the county.<ref name="census-dp1">Template:Cite web</ref> The population density was Template:Convert. There were 45,246 housing units at an average density of Template:Convert.<ref name="CD">Template:Cite web</ref> The racial makeup of the county was 77.6% white, 15.1% black or African American, 0.9% Asian, 0.3% Native American, 4.0% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 9.0% of the population.<ref name="census-dp1" /> In terms of ancestry, 26.5% were German, 14.2% were Irish, 7.4% were English, 6.7% were Italian, 5.8% were Polish, and 3.6% were American.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Of the 41,511 households, 35.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 30.9% were non-families, and 25.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.13. The median age was 36.7 years.<ref name="census-dp1" />

The median income for a household in the county was $50,484 and the median income for a family was $59,998. Males had a median income of $49,858 versus $32,247 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,888. About 10.8% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.6% of those under age 18 and 8.4% of those age 65 or over.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Communities

Cities

Villages

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Unincorporated communities

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Townships

Kankakee County is divided into seventeen townships:

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Politics

Kankakee County is split between Illinois's 2nd congressional district, represented by Democrat Robin Kelly (D-Matteson), and Illinois's 1st congressional district, represented by Jonathan Jackson (D-Chicago). Kankakee County has produced three governors: Len Small (R), Samuel H. Shapiro (D), and George H. Ryan (R).

In December 2016, Kankakee County became the only county in Illinois to have a Libertarian county board member when Jim Byrne of Bradley left the Republican Party to join the Libertarian Party.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> In the 2020 general election, Byrne lost reelection to Democratic candidate Heather Bryan, while Libertarian Jacob Collins was elected unopposed on the Libertarian line continuing Kankakee County's distinction of being the only county with a Libertarian board member<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> until Collins opted not to run for reelection in the 2022 general election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Education

The county is home to Olivet Nazarene University and Kankakee Community College.

Transportation

Kankakee County is served by the Greater Kankakee Airport. Amtrak runs train service through the city via Kankakee station. The station serves the Illini and Saluki trains to Carbondale as well as the City of New Orleans. The city of Kankakee has local public transit service provided by the River Valley Metro Mass Transit District. Momence and rural Kankakee county are served by SHOW Bus.