Kankakee County, Illinois facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kankakee County
U.S. county
Kankakee County Courthouse
Location within the U.S. state of Illinois
Illinois's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Founded	February 11, 1853
Named for	Kankakee River
Seat	Kankakee
Largest city	Kankakee
Area
• Total	681 sq mi (1,760 km2)
• Land	677 sq mi (1,750 km2)
• Water	4.8 sq mi (12 km2)  0.7%
Population  (2020)
• Total	107,502
• Density	157.86/sq mi (60.95/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional districts	1st, 2nd

Kankakee County is a county in the state of Illinois, United States. In 2020, about 107,502 people lived there. The main city and government center is Kankakee. The county is part of the Kankakee, IL metropolitan area.

History of Kankakee County

For many years, starting in the 1770s or even earlier, the land that is now Kankakee County was home to the Potawatomi people.

French Canadian settlers began arriving in Kankakee County in 1834. This was after the U.S. government signed a special agreement called the Treaty of Camp Tippecanoe in 1832. Soon, people from New York and Vermont also moved to the area, many settling in Momence, Illinois. In the 1840s, more French Canadians arrived and made their homes in places like Bourbonnais.

Kankakee County was officially created in February 1853. This happened when the Illinois Legislature, which is the state's law-making group, passed a special act. The new county was formed from parts of Iroquois County and Will County.

At first, Kankakee County had six main areas called townships. These were Yellowhead, Rockville, Bourbonnais, Momence, Aroma Park, and Limestone. Around 8,000 people lived in the new county. In 1855, two more townships, Norton and Essex, were added from Vermilion County. The county was named after the Kankakee River, which flows through the area.

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  Kankakee County when it was first created in 1853.

Geography of Kankakee County

Kankakee County covers a total area of about 681 square miles. Most of this area, about 677 square miles, is land. The remaining 4.8 square miles is water.

Climate and Weather in Kankakee County

In the main city of Kankakee, temperatures usually range from 12°F (about -11°C) in January to 86°F (about 30°C) in July. However, the weather can be extreme. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -29°F (about -34°C) in January 1985. The hottest was 107°F (about 42°C) in August 1988. The county usually gets the most rain in May.

Neighboring Counties

Kankakee County shares its borders with several other counties:

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

Population and People

This chart shows the age groups of people in Kankakee County in 2000.

In 2010, there were about 113,449 people living in Kankakee County. These people lived in over 41,500 households. A household means all the people living in one home. About 35% of these households had children under 18.

The people in Kankakee County come from many different backgrounds. Many residents have roots in countries like Germany, Ireland, England, Italy, and Poland. About 9% of the population is of Hispanic or Latino origin. The average age of people in the county was about 36.7 years old.

Communities in Kankakee County

Cities

• Kankakee
• Momence

Villages

Unincorporated Communities

Townships

Kankakee County is divided into seventeen smaller government areas called townships:

Education in Kankakee County

Kankakee County is home to two important schools for higher education. These are Olivet Nazarene University and Kankakee Community College.

Transportation in Kankakee County

Kankakee County has its own airport, called the Greater Kankakee Airport. For train travel, Amtrak provides service through the city of Kankakee. You can catch the Illini and Saluki trains, which go to Carbondale. The famous City of New Orleans train also stops here.

Within the city of Kankakee, people can use local buses run by the River Valley Metro Mass Transit District. For those living in Momence and other rural parts of Kankakee County, there is a bus service called SHOW Bus.

Major Highways

Several important highways pass through Kankakee County, making it easy to travel to and from the area:

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Kankakee para niños