Beyond the chili, the township has lined up a DJ, a bonfire, games, and raffles with prizes, according to the Shaw Local News Network announcement.

Anyone who wants to enter the cook-off or set up a vendor table can call Stephanie at 815-214-1744 or Kim at 815-301-0884.

The announcement did not list an entry fee, admission price, judging rules or prizes for the winning chili. Call the contacts above for those details.

As of Sunday, the village had not posted registration details, costume categories or prizes. The event does appear on the village's online events calendar. Questions can go to Village Hall at 815-937-3570.

The parade comes 10 days after the village tried something new at The Grove. At the Oct. 19 Village Board meeting, Trustee Angie Serafini announced Witches Night Out, held Wednesday, Oct. 21, from 6 to 9 p.m. at The Grove behind Village Hall, WVLI 92.7 reported. Serafini chairs the village's Communications and Engagement Committee. The village's fall lineup billed Witches Night Out as more than 30 vendors, readings, a costume contest and acoustic music; we found no recap.

These are two separate events. The village did not say whether Witches Night Out will return next year.

RISE Music Academy offers an eight-week course for children and teens covering keyboard, guitar, drums and percussion. Students learn rhythm, timing, notes, chords and scales, along with how to care for an instrument. Graduates receive a certificate and an instrument of their own. Still I Rise says the program is meant to build discipline and confidence.

Still I Rise is led by executive director Tocarra Eldridge-Robinson, a recording artist, and operations manager Aaron Robinson, who owns They Authentic Records. Their music-industry credits include work with Keith Murray, BenOne and Public Announcement's Earl LC, and they count Sounds of Blackness among their mentors.

The release did not say exactly how the gift came about. A photo with the story shows the Robinsons with Bell at the Kool Kids Foundation's third annual First Woman Awards Brunch in New Jersey, where Eldridge-Robinson was recognized for her community work.

The report did not say how many students the academy serves. Information: still-irise.org or 815-414-9614.

Local vendors sell crafts, produce and seasonal food, and The Majestic's own tenants are open during market hours. The report did not list a vendor count or say whether there is an admission charge.

Vendors who want a table should apply soon. Organizers describe space as extremely limited. The application is on the home page of downtownkankakee.com, farther down the page (the farmers market section is at downtownkankakee.com/farmers-market).

Before the move indoors, the outdoor Kankakee Farmers' Market has one Saturday left this year: Oct. 31, from 8 a.m. to noon in the lot at South Schuyler Avenue and Merchant Street.

The club held nine outings this year, each at a different spot picked for good youth fishing. Recent sites have included Bird Park Quarry in Kankakee, Turnberry Ponds in Bourbonnais, Munjoy Ponds in Limestone and Hieland Lakes in St. Anne. A regular stop is the veterans' home in Manteno, where the kids help veterans fish. Most outings are catch and release.

Reel Justice began with grant money and is now paid for entirely by community support. Volunteers from the Northern Illinois Anglers Association help at many outings, and Elliott's Bait and Tackle in Kankakee supplies most of the rods, reels, bait and lures. Bill Terrill and Miles Maiden helped start the club, and Dugan Hubert has helped run it since.

Families can apply at k3sao.com/fish. No deadline or outing dates for 2027 have been announced.

Board member Cynth Veronda said the option gives kids who are not ready to sleep away a way to get in on camp.

Next summer's lineup also includes youth camp, extreme camp, try camp and outdoor camp, plus a counselor-in-training track for teens. Registration opened Oct. 5. Dates, sessions, ages and prices for each program are posted at campshaw.org.

The camp drew more than 1,000 campers last summer, and Meizels expects about 1,200 next year. It covers more than 100 acres at 6641 N. 6000W Road and sits on the site of one of the oldest Potawatomi villages. It is named for Potawatomi Chief Shaw-waw-nas-see.

Camp Shaw marked its 80th year with a reunion and fundraiser on Oct. 3, drawing campers, counselors and staff from the 1980s through the 2010s. Meizels took over this past summer from Nonnie "Cookie" Scorzo, who had led the camp since November 2020.

Fewer than 10% of Illinois hospitals have reached the gold level, according to the hospital.

Chief nursing officer Maria Wleklinski said appropriate antibiotic use requires "a daily focus" given the threat of drug resistance. CEO Patrick Kerrwood said the aim is better treatment for patients, with fewer side effects and fewer infections picked up in the hospital.

St. Mary's is part of Prime Healthcare. Four other Prime hospitals in Illinois also made the gold list: Resurrection Medical Center in Chicago, Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin, Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet and Saint Francis in Evanston.

That leaves this week for regulars to stop in. Hours for the final days were not included in the report; check The Mill's Facebook page before heading over.

The report did not mention any plans for the space after the shop closes.

The chamber's announcement does not name the practice's owner or list the services it offers, its hours or the insurance it accepts.

Questions about the ribbon cutting can go to Courtney at the chamber, courtney@kankakeecountychamber.com, or the chamber's main line at 815-351-9068.

We will add details about Sophron's services when the practice makes them public.

The Bourbs will publish the date, time and lineup as soon as the commission or the county releases them.

Haas told the station the drive gives people a place to get rid of medications they no longer need.

We did not find a report on how much was collected. Haas' office has run similar drives in past years.

The Bourbs' own price check tells a similar story. We pulled posted prices for 35 Kankakee County stations from GasBuddy user reports updated Oct. 23-25. The average across those stations was $4.85 a gallon, a little above AAA's local number.

The cheapest price in the county was $4.69 at Gas Depot, 330 S. Nelson Ave., Kankakee. Next were two St. Anne stations at $4.73: BP at 300 S. Dixie Highway and Casey's at 110 S. Dixie Highway.

The highest posted price was $4.99, at four Bourbonnais stations: Road Ranger on Quebec Drive, Murphy Express on North Route 50, Casey's on North Convent Street and BP on Main Street NW.

By town, Manteno was the most uniform, with all six stations at $4.79. Herscher's two stations and Chebanse's one were also at $4.79. Bradley's six stations ran $4.85 to $4.95. Bourbonnais, with 11 stations, had the widest spread, $4.79 to $4.99. Kankakee ranged from $4.69 to $4.92, Momence from $4.79 to $4.89, and both Grant Park stations posted $4.89.

GasBuddy prices are reported by users and can change at any time, so check the pump before you fill up.

The program, often called LIHEAP, is run locally by the Will County Center for Community Concerns with state money from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Help with utility bills is available through Aug. 13, 2027, or until the money runs out.

Right now, applications are open to income-eligible households with a senior 60 or older, a person with a disability, or a child age 5 or younger, and to households that have been disconnected or are about to be. Starting Monday, Nov. 2, any income-eligible household can apply. Furnace help, for income-eligible homeowners whose heating system has stopped working or been red-tagged by the utility, is available through May 31, 2027. The flyer does not list the income limits.

Bring everything: Social Security cards for everyone in the home, a photo ID, 30 days of income for all household members, gas and electric bills from the last 30 days, and any benefit paperwork. Homeowners seeking furnace help need a mortgage statement or deed plus a tax bill.

Questions: 815-722-0722 or wccc.net.

Zimmerman's 1996 play retells stories from the Roman poet Ovid's "Metamorphoses," including King Midas, Orpheus and Eurydice, Narcissus, and Eros and Psyche. Fifteen students make up the cast and share nearly 100 roles, and five of them double as understudies. Students also run the backstage crew, and for the first time in the program's history they designed and sewed every costume.

Director Kelsie Davis, who heads ONU Theatre, called the show "sickeningly beautiful, undeniably mythical and piercingly human."

The university recommends the production for ages 12 and up because some themes may not suit younger children.

Tickets are sold online through Brushfire at brushfire.com/olivet/fallplaymetamorphoses/636378. The university's announcement and the ticket page did not list prices.

It also highlights the outdoors, with riverfront trails, parks and the Kankakee River supporting golf, hiking, kayaking, biking and fishing. On culture, it points to historic architecture shaped by the river and the railroad, local museums, music festivals, farmers markets and coffee shops. For health care, it notes the county's two hospitals and a growing network of regional providers.

Finally, the alliance sells location: city energy with a small-town feel, easy access to bigger metro areas and room to spread out.

The post is a promotional piece, not a study. It does not include figures on schools, commute times or the number of parks, and it does not say where the cost-of-living figure comes from.

Builder PSI Construction of Kankakee expects the pace to pick up as more drawings are approved. Bob BeDell, PSI's senior construction manager, said work could soon move about four times faster than it has so far. BLDD Architects designed the project.

The field house is central to the plan. Once it opens, District 307 can close four other gym spaces and turn them into classrooms, with the goal of avoiding mobile classrooms. "That is the most economical way for us to get everybody under one building," Superintendent Matt Vosberg said.

Site work and the groundbreaking happened this summer, construction continues through the fall, and the whole project is set to be finished in August 2028.

The work comes as enrollment shrinks. District 307 has 1,737 students, down 335, or 16.2%, from 2,072 in the 2016-17 school year. The Daily Journal's story did not say how the project is being paid for.

This year's theme, "We the People," was carried over from the 117th NAACP National Convention in Chicago. Branch President Theodis Pace told the Kankakee Valley Community Happenings podcast the theme stresses working together on democracy, criminal justice, voting rights and education.

"Justice in Kankakee County is built by all of us, working side by side," Pace said in the gala announcement reported by the Daily Journal.

The gala is the branch's signature annual event. Ticket and sponsorship sales pay for its local programs and advocacy, which Pace said include a youth division, health committee work and voter outreach.

No recap of the evening, including attendance, awards or remarks, had been published as of Sunday night. The Bourbs will update this story when coverage is available. To get involved with the branch, visit kankakeecountybranchnaacp.org or call 815-932-0858.

The same night, aldermen voted 11-0 on each of four resolutions to waive competitive bidding and hire Langlois Roofing of Kankakee to replace roofs damaged by this year's storms: Fire Station No. 2, $66,300; Station No. 5, $124,250; Station No. 6, $101,800; and the hydroelectric plant, $80,500. The total is $372,850, to be paid with insurance money.

The city priced the work through TIPS, a national purchasing cooperative. Officials said bidding would take about six weeks and push the work into winter. Curtis said he is wary of relying on TIPS in the future because it did not send the city a letter vouching for the contractor, and he has asked city attorneys to review the practice. Curtis said these are the first four of 18 city roofs that need replacing.

The council also tabled a $47,907 no-bid repair at the Kankakee Neighborhood House until its first December meeting to collect more bids.

The administrator runs day-to-day village operations and helps prepare the annual budget.

The village has not said publicly how many people applied, whether it is using a search firm, or who is handling the administrator's duties in the meantime.

The fee has not been set. Early talk put it at roughly $50 to $100 a year.

Barry said the goal is oversight, not revenue. Officials told the committee no one can say how many businesses operate in Manteno, who owns them or whether their buildings meet code, and the village's business codes were last updated in 1956, officials said. Barry wants all businesses held to the same standard the village applied to the Gotion battery plant. Trustee CJ Boudreau said a license would end talk that some businesses get closer scrutiny than others.

Mayor Annette LaMore said the building standards director wants to start quickly because new businesses keep arriving. Building director Jim Paicz said applications could go out by late November and warned the first year may be bumpy. No public objections were reported.

Mayor Chris Curtis said the city will continue the work with no harm to residents. He plans to fold the city's neighborhood stabilization program, which has a $162,000 budget but has struggled to get started, into the land bank, and to apply for an Illinois Housing Development Authority grant of up to $800,000. The land bank's six-member board, now split evenly between county and city appointees, would become city-appointed.

Second Ward Alderman Dave Baron said the land bank has gained momentum over the past year. Land bank president Lisa Sanford said the aim is to give people chances to buy renovated homes.

The report did not say when the county board would formally vote on the exit.

The group leaves Oct. 29 and returns Nov. 3, according to the Daily Journal. Plans include a visit to Guanajuato's state congress on Oct. 30, the formal signing on Oct. 31, site visits including a factory on Nov. 1 and a tourism day in San Miguel de Allende on Nov. 2. Curtis said Yuriria is covering the delegation's expenses, so the trip costs Kankakee taxpayers nothing.

The relationship dates back more than two decades; a delegation led by then-Mayor Donald Green went to Yuriria in 2004 to formally adopt it. An estimated half of Kankakee's Hispanic residents trace their roots to the Yuriria area, according to the Daily Journal. Curtis said the cities want to work together every year and plan to join a statewide sister-city group.

The article did not give raw counts for shootings, victims or homicides, and it did not name an outside agency behind the data, which came from the mayor.

Curtis credited better technology, detectives and community relations. Police Chief Christopher Kidwell pointed to ShotSpotter and Ballistics IQ, tools he says help officers reconstruct shootings. Curtis acknowledged there will be ups and downs and said he still believes zero homicides is reachable.

The numbers came the same week Curtis asked residents for tips after several shots-fired incidents the weekend before the Oct. 19 council meeting, WVLI reported. That report did not say whether anyone was hurt.

For scale, the city's latest audit, cited by the Daily Journal, shows police spending of $8.8 million in 2025, about a third of city operating costs, not counting a one-time $34.5 million pension payment. The department has 68.5 sworn officers and in 2025 made 1,276 arrests.

Aqua Illinois President David Carter told the Daily Journal, in a story published Oct. 21, that sewer cleaning and other repairs for the Bourbonnais project would begin Monday. Neither report said which Bourbonnais streets are involved. The other Kankakee County projects were still awaiting Illinois EPA permits.

Carter said the work is meant to prevent leaks, reduce service interruptions and lower environmental risks. Aqua said it will notify affected customers about schedules and temporary service disruptions. It has announced no lane closures on I-57.

Statewide, the 14 projects cover about 100,000 feet of water main and nearly 284,000 feet of sewer lines. They are part of more than $492 million Aqua plans to spend over five years in Illinois, where it serves about 280,000 people.

Neither report said whether the work will affect customer rates.

Fouts was the hero of the Oct. 19 semifinal. With the game scoreless in the 51st minute, midfielder Oscar Grizzle won the ball and found Fouts on the left side, and Fouts outran a defender and chipped a left-footed shot in for a 1-0 upset of No. 2 seed Mahomet-Seymour. Adams made key saves late to protect the lead, giving the team its first clean sheet since Sept. 19.

Bradley-Bourbonnais now competes in Class 2A after moving down from 3A. Coach Andy Stembridge said the breaks finally went his team's way: "Finally the ball's bounced in our direction and in our way."

Next up is the Class 2A Washington Sectional. Bradley-Bourbonnais plays top-seeded Washington at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, at Washington, and Kankakee meets Normal University in the other semifinal at 7 p.m., according to the IHSA. If both local teams win, they would meet for the sectional title at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, in Washington.

Manteno won an all-county final at the Class 1A Iroquois West Regional, blanking Momence 4-0 for its third consecutive regional title. Landon Flanigan, Santiago Andrews, Quinn Campbell and Gio Zuniga scored for the top-seeded Panthers, Jake Krisko assisted on two goals and Flanigan set up another. Momence finished 8-4-1.

Both finalists rolled through the Oct. 20 semifinals at Iroquois West. Manteno shut out Bishop McNamara 6-0 as Brady Ruff scored twice and Zuniga, Campbell, Jesus Alvarado and Flanigan added one each. Zuniga's goal was his 14th of the season, tops on the team. Momence beat the host school 4-1, with Augustin Ojeda scoring first and Ulisses Garcia-Herrera adding the next three, avenging a 2-1 loss to Iroquois West about a month earlier. Momence coach Tomlyn Brza credited a healthy lineup: "Having everybody back today made a huge difference."

Bishop McNamara finished 3-17, but the Fightin' Irish picked up a postseason win for the second straight season by beating Grant Park 3-2 in the regional quarterfinals.

Herscher took the Class 1A Hoopeston Regional title with a 5-0 shutout of second-seeded Bismarck-Henning-Rossville-Alvin. It is the Tigers' second straight regional crown and their fourth in five years, and it was their sixth shutout of the season. Herscher (14-9-1) beat St. Anne 3-1 in the semifinals after St. Anne opened the regional with a 4-1 win over Clifton Central.

Manteno hosts the Class 1A Manteno Sectional. On Monday, Oct. 26, Manteno plays Peotone at 4 p.m. and Herscher faces top-seeded Coal City at 6 p.m., according to the IHSA. Peotone won its regional by beating Reed-Custer 3-0, and Coal City beat Beecher 5-1 in its final. The sectional championship is set for 4:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, at Manteno.

Herscher won the boys team title with 41 points, and Bishop McNamara (fourth, 122) and Manteno (sixth, 168) also advanced as teams. Herscher's Evan Benoit was the top area finisher, placing second in 15:36.6. McNamara's Sebastian Cortes (seventh, 16:15.7), Herscher's Carson Overacker (eighth, 16:16.2), McNamara's Elijah Muthami (ninth, 16:16.7) and Herscher's Jackson Kruse (10th, 16:24.6) were close behind.

Both Bradley-Bourbonnais teams advanced from the Class 3A Normal Community Regional. The boys placed third with 99 points behind Kyler Savini, who was fourth in 15:55.3, with Dylan Weimer (17th, 16:24.8) and Caden Weimer (18th, 16:24.9) right together. The girls claimed the sixth and final team spot with 183 points, led by Makenzie Goodman (36th, 21:14.3).

At the Class 2A Peoria Notre Dame Regional, Kankakee's Yemari Sims (38th, 18:33.8) and Caleb Frisius (39th, 18:37.5) qualified as individuals. Kankakee's Riley Braddy placed 43rd in the girls race, one spot shy of advancing.

Sectionals are Saturday, Oct. 31, according to IHSA site assignments. The Class 1A Kankakee (McNamara) Sectional is back at Kankakee Community College, with girls at 10 a.m. and boys at 11 a.m. Bradley-Bourbonnais runs in the Class 3A Lincoln-Way Central Sectional at The Oaks of Mokena (girls 10 a.m., boys 11 a.m.), and Kankakee's qualifiers head to the Class 2A Metamora Sectional at Black Partridge Park in Metamora (girls 10:30 a.m., boys 11:30 a.m.).

Another Nazarene school sits right behind the Tigers. MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) jumped from No. 5 to No. 2 in the same poll with a 10-1-2 record, and the NAIA noted it leads the association with 11 shutouts and a 0.15 goals-against average.

Coach Jon Forsythe described his group as "the No. 1 team in the nation at this stage of the season."

Olivet plays at Saint Xavier at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 28, at Deaton Field in Chicago, according to Saint Xavier's schedule. The NAIA says the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament begins Nov. 3.

Elsewhere, Grant Park (23-8) beat Donovan 25-20, 25-14 for its 16th straight win, finishing its best regular season since 2022. St. Anne (13-7) broke its single-season wins record by coming back to beat Iroquois West 22-25, 27-25, 25-20; Tessa DeYoung finished with 19 kills, a personal best, and 16 digs.

Class 4A: No. 5 seed Bradley-Bourbonnais opens against No. 3 Yorkville in a Joliet West Regional semifinal at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Joliet West.

Class 3A: No. 9 seed Kankakee plays No. 8 Tinley Park at 6 p.m. Monday at Crete-Monee. The winner faces top-seeded Providence Catholic at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Class 2A: Top-seeded Manteno opens at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Southland College Prep in Richton Park against the winner of Monday's Southland College Prep vs. Carver Military Academy match. Herscher (8) and Bishop McNamara (9) meet at 6 p.m. Monday at El Paso-Gridley, with the winner taking on No. 1 seed Eureka at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Class 1A: At the Illinois Lutheran Regional in Crete, top seed Grant Park plays Unity Christian at 6 p.m. Monday and Momence (8) faces College Prep (9) at 7 p.m., with those winners meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday. St. Anne (6) plays Flanagan-Cornell at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Milford Regional, and Grace Christian (12) meets Clifton Central at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Iroquois West Regional at Iroquois West Middle School in Onarga.

Every one of those regional championship matches is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, according to the IHSA.

Momence's season ended in Class 1A with a 46-12 loss at Lena-Winslow, the defending state champion. Lena-Winslow scored all 46 of its points in the first half; Momence's two touchdowns came after the break. Momence finishes 3-7.

In 8-man football, St. Anne/Donovan closed its regular season with a 57-24 road win over Peoria Heights, a season high in points, to finish 5-4.