Kankakee City Council, July 6

Agenda items

• On the agendaPB2026-6-1 — CUP for Commercial Short-Term Rental, 744 South Schuyler Avenue

  R-1 Single Family Residential district; short-term rental is a listed conditional permitted use there. Near Phase 1 of the Kankakee Riverfront Plan (East Riverwalk), under construction across the river.

• On the agendaPB2026-6-2 — CUP for Major Home Occupation (Massage Therapist), 839 South Wildwood Avenue

  Applicant Christopher Field; business occupies ~1 room / ~5% of gross floor area (within the 2-room/20% cap). By-appointment-only, one client at a time.

• On the agendaKankakee Public Library — street closure for "Family Fun Day," July 11
• On the agendaCIRKA — parking lot rental for "Teen Talent Takeover," July 19
• On the agendaState Rep. Jackie Haas — Train Depot Roundabout closure for "Shred Event," Sept 26
• On the agendaRotary Club of Kankakee — "Halloween Downtown," Oct 18

  Farmers' Market lot + Festival Square rental, 200 block S. Schuyler Ave street closure. Annual community festival with games, music, food/merchandise vendors, trunk-or-treat.

• On the agendaOrdinance amending Chapter 32 §231 — Handicapped Parking at 480 South Indiana Avenue

  Routine sign-installation ordinance.

• On the agendaOrdinance amending Chapter 27 (Police) — Public Safety Fee sunset extension to 2030

  FLAG — careful framing needed: this RENEWS an existing fee, it does not raise it. Dollar amounts unchanged: $10/month per residential unit, $20/month per commercial/industrial unit (billed via Aqua Illinois sewer bills). Sunset date extended from April 30, 2026 to April 30, 2030 — a 4-year renewal of a fee first created in 2014 (Ord. 14-12), previously renewed 2018 and 2022. Funds KAMEG, Project Safe Neighborhood, Stolen Auto Task Force, Traffic Unit, School Resource Officer, firefighter and police officer positions. Most of the redline repeals obsolete 1968-era provisions (Auxiliary Policemen, City Marshal roles) and renames the pension fund. Ordinance preamble language about "loss of sales tax revenue" could read as alarming if summarized without this context.

• On the agendaOrdinance adopting the Annual Budget, FY May 1 2026–April 30 2027 (First Reading)

  First reading; final public hearing and passage expected July 20, 2026.

• On the agendaBudget and Annual Appropriations Ordinance, Kankakee Environmental Services Utility, FY 2026-2027 (First Reading)
• On the agendaAppointment — Elizabeth Barbosa to Planning Board
• On the agendaResolution honoring Josiah Barrera, 2026 IESA Class 8-4A Shot Put State Champion
• On the agendaHonorary "Frank Lloyd Wright Way" — portion of South Harrison Avenue

  Ties to the B. Harley Bradley House (1900, Wright's first Prairie Style residence, National Register) and the Warren Hickox House, both on S. Harrison Ave.

• On the agendaHonorary "Ira D. Nelson Avenue" — 600 block of North Schuyler Avenue

  Korean War veteran, deacon at Zion Gate Missionary Baptist Church, Kankakee's first licensed African American barber, also worked 13 years at Manteno State Hospital.

• PassedResolution authorizing City-State Agreement with IDOT — I-57 / IL-17 Interchange Reconstruction

  FLAG — major infrastructure item, largest dollar figure of the meeting. Complete reconstruction of the I-57/IL-17 (Court St.) interchange as a single point urban diamond interchange; IL 17 reconstructed North Fairmont Ave to Eastgate Industrial Pkwy; KB&S railroad overpass reconstruction; frontage road realignment; Eastridge Dr. intersection realigned ~80 ft east; Crestlane Dr. removed; I-57 rebuilt to 2 lanes each direction with barrier median, designed for future 6-lane expansion; new signals/lighting; shared-use path + sidewalk. Total estimated project cost ~$89,000,000 (Federal/State split 90/10 on I-57 mainline, 80/20 on IL 17 mainline). City of Kankakee's direct obligation: $2,000,000 reimbursed incrementally as construction progresses. Additional 100%-City-cost items: roadway lighting $650,500; aesthetic wiring $30,500; Emergency Vehicle Priority System $43,850; noise wall aesthetics $121,200; bridge parapet aesthetic design $68,450; bridge fascia decorative panels + lighting $478,400. City also takes 10% cost share (capped $178,000) on traffic signals at Fairmont Ave. and Eastridge Dr. Ongoing maintenance transferred to City indefinitely (utilities, landscaping, sidewalks, storm sewer along IL 17, decorative bridge elements). Contract must be awarded by September 15, 2029 or the agreement is void; funding contingent on continued state/federal appropriations.

  Source: news report (not yet confirmed by minutes)

Compiled by The Bourbs from the documents linked above. We mark an item with an outcome only when a vote is recorded in the minutes, an adopted ordinance or resolution, the meeting recording, or a news report we cite; everything else is listed as it appeared on the agenda. Spot an error? Tell us and we will correct it. More: Our Reporting · This week's agendas.