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The Bourbs Daily
Monday, September 14, 2026 ☀ 77°/51° — Mostly Sunny
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Editor's Note
Monday morning, September 14th. Summer is officially on the way out and fall is moving in like it means it. Grab the coffee, check the scores from the weekend, and let's see what Kankakee County has going on this week.
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View all news articles →
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📅 Out & About in Kankakee County
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Homecoming Week kicks off at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School (BBCHS) today, building to Friday's parade and game and Saturday's dance. Otherwise it's a working Monday -- BBCHS holds its budget hearing tonight, and the libraries are back with storytime, a teen Cricut class, and a Fortitude outreach stop for anyone who needs it.
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★ Featured
6:00PM
Board Meeting & Budget Hearing
BBCHS Board Room (30)
BBCHS's board meets tonight for its annual budget hearing -- the public's chance to see where the district's money is going before the board votes, 6 PM in the Board Room.
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10:00AM
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Move & Groove FREE
Bradley Public Library, 296 N Fulton Ave
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10:00AM
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Family Storytime FREE
Bourbonnais Public Library District, 250 W John Casey Rd
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Plan ahead
Tuesday evening brings Wright at Twilight, an evening event at the B. Harley Bradley House -- Frank Lloyd Wright's first prairie-style house, now open for tours in Kankakee, hosted by the preservation nonprofit Wright In Kankakee. See event
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See all 34 events on BradleyIllinois.com →
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📜 Dale's Corner
The French Heritage Corridor
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Kankakee County is part of Illinois' French Heritage Corridor — a designation that recognizes the string of French-Canadian communities running from the southern suburbs of Chicago down through Kankakee County and into the rural townships to the south. The corridor follows, roughly, the routes that French missionaries and fur traders used in the 17th and 18th centuries, and the communities along it share a heritage distinct from the rest of Illinois. Bourbonnais, St. Anne, and several other Kankakee County communities are part of the corridor. It extends north toward Chicago and south into Iroquois County. The designation is partly meant to attract heritage tourism, but the underlying cultural continuity is real. French is not widely spoken in the corridor today, but its traces aren't hard to find: the street names, the church dedications, the surnames on the mailboxes and the headstones, the architectural details of the oldest buildings. The communities along the corridor know what they came from. Some of them are actively working to preserve and interpret that heritage before the last people who inherited it directly are gone.
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A good Monday sets the table for a good everything else.
— Dale
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🏛 This Week in Local Government
What your boards just did — and what they take up next.
Five municipal boards met Sept. 8 after the Labor Day shift, with Bourbonnais taking up a new cannabis retailers’ tax and two TIF agreements, Manteno appointing a new Building & Zoning director, and Kankakee County opening rezoning cases for agricultural land. Minutes are not yet officially posted for any of those meetings — outcomes remain unconfirmed.
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Bourbonnais · Village Board of Trustees
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Tue, Sep 8 Agenda →
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ORDINANCE 26-2559 — Cannabis Retailers' Occupation Tax was on the agenda for adoption |
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ORDINANCE 26-2560 — Industrial Park TIF Administration PSA (Jacob & Klein) was on the agenda |
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ORDINANCE 26-2561 — Main Street/University Ave TIF Administration PSA was on the agenda |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Mon, Sep 21 · 5:30 PM Agenda →
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Regular 3rd-Monday meeting — agenda not yet posted as of Sept. 12 |
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Bradley · Village Board
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Wed, Sep 2 Agenda →
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R-09-26-01 — Resolution requesting an IDOT permit for a streetscape project was on the agenda |
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R-09-26-02 — Resolution supporting grant applications for landscaping/beautification was on the agenda |
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Special meeting called to consider two resolutions outside the regular meeting cycle |
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MEETS TONIGHT — ON THE AGENDA Mon, Sep 14 · 6:30 PM Agenda →
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R-09-26-03 — Resolution to accept a demolition proposal for 1441 E. Larry Power Rd. is on the agenda (Community Development committee report) |
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Minutes from the Aug. 24 regular meeting and Sept. 2 special meeting are up for approval — both meetings currently have unconfirmed outcomes |
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Executive session noticed for personnel, compensation, collective bargaining, and real estate acquisition — possible action to follow |
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Kankakee · City Council
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Tue, Sep 8 Agenda →
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Three new KPD officers sworn in: Zachary Johnson, Devario Robertson, and a third officer |
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Clocktower Building — street closure at S. Schuyler Ave. & E. Station St. was on the agenda |
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Ordinance amending Chapter 27 (Police) of the Municipal Code was on the agenda |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Mon, Sep 21 · 7:00 PM Agenda →
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Regular 3rd-Monday meeting — agenda not yet posted as of Sept. 12 |
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Kankakee County · County Board
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Tue, Sep 8 Agenda →
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Resolution — County Highway 23 Reconstruction (LPF Funds) was on the agenda |
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ZBA Case 26-08 and 26-09 — two A1→A2 Agricultural Estate rezoning cases were before the board |
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Application for Capital Assistance Grant for Paratransit vehicles was on the agenda |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Wed, Sep 16 · 9:00 AM (Exec) / 9:00 AM (Finance, Sept. 17) Agenda →
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Executive Committee meets Wed. Sept. 16 — monthly reports from Health Dept., Veterans Assistance, and department heads; board appointment openings |
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Finance Committee meets Thu. |
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Next regular County Board meeting is Oct. 13 |
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Manteno · Village Board
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Tue, Sep 8 Agenda →
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Appointment of Jim Paicz as Director of Building and Zoning/Code Enforcement was on the agenda |
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In-kind donation agreement between the Chamber of Commerce and the Village was on the agenda |
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Payment of bills totaling $309,689.86 (including TIF #3) was on the agenda |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Mon, Sep 21 · 6:30 PM
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Regular 3rd-Monday meeting — agenda not yet posted as of Sept. 12 |
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Essex · Village Board
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Thu, Sep 3
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Regular 1st-Thursday meeting was held — agenda was a scanned image PDF with no text layer; specific items could not be extracted |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Thu, Oct 1 · 6:00 PM
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Regular 1st-Thursday meeting — next Essex board meeting is Oct. 1 (outside the current window) |
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See all board meetings →
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🎓 This Week in Your Schools
School boards and parent groups — decisions made, and what is on deck.
The week opens with two nights of headline-level school board action. Monday at BBCHS: the board accepts Dr. Vosberg's resignation, adopts the FY27 budget, and gives the boiler bid its green light — all at 6:00 p.m. in the board room.
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BBCHS SD 307 · Board of Education
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WHAT HAPPENED Mon, Aug 24 Minutes →
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The board approved the 2026-29 master agreement with the Bradley-Bourbonnais Education Association, IEA-NEA — the high school’s teachers’ three-year contract. |
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The health insurance buy-up plan is eliminated. |
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Teacher evaluations move to every three years. FY27 raises for classified support staff and administrators passed the same night at the same percentage teachers received |
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MEETS TONIGHT — ON THE AGENDA Mon, Sep 14 · 6:00 PM (budget hearing) → regular board meeting immediately following Agenda →
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BUDGET HEARING THEN BUDGET VOTE: Finance director Ramie Kolitwenzew presents the FY27 budget at 6:00 p.m., then the board votes to adopt it at the regular meeting — both… |
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DR. VOSBERG'S RESIGNATION on the consent agenda: the board votes to formally accept the superintendent's resignation at this meeting |
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Seven new hires on consent: two bus drivers, a bus aide, mass communications coordinator (Keith Martin), two parapros, and Max Schumer as Head Girls Wrestling Coach |
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Bourbonnais SD 53 · Board of Education
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WHAT HAPPENED Wed, Sep 2 Minutes →
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All seven SD 53 board members were present Wednesday night, went into closed session on a grievance appeal filed by the Bourbonnais Education Association, and came back out… |
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What the board decided is not on the record. The minutes say the board 'conducted a Step-Three Grievance' and log Ayes 7, Nays 0 — they do not state the disposition. |
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A Step-Three grievance is the last stop inside the district. |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Tue, Sep 22 · 7:00 PM Agenda →
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Budget hearing followed by the regular meeting — the 2026-27 budget goes from tentative to adopted. |
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The PRESS Plus 122 policy update, given a first reading Aug. 18, would normally come back for adoption at this meeting |
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Worth knowing: SD 53 is a fourth-Tuesday board with published exceptions this year — August, November and December are all third Tuesdays. |
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Kankakee SD 111 · Board of Education
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Thu, Aug 27 Agenda →
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The Aug. 27 working session ran committees back to back: Policy Committee took up a cell phone policy, facility use, mileage/travel, and vacation rollover, plus the PRESS… |
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Curriculum Committee heard a curriculum update and an Early Release Wednesday overview; Finance Committee took up a district-wide lighting project and a storm damage… |
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Nothing here was a vote — working sessions are where SD 111 works items through before they reach a board agenda |
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MEETS TONIGHT — ON THE AGENDA Mon, Sep 14 · Closed Session 5:30 PM, Budget Hearing + Regular Session 7:00 PM Agenda →
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LOCATION CHANGE: This one is at Kankakee Junior High School (2250 E. Crestwood), not the Lincoln Cultural Center where the district usually meets |
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FY27 BUDGET HEARING AND ADOPTION: public hearing opens the regular session, then the board votes to adopt the budget |
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SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT: the board votes on a settlement in a case styled 'Kankakee Judiciocracy' — terms are in attached documents |
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Bradley SD 61 · School Board
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Thu, Sep 17 · 6:45 PM FY27 Budget Hearing, 7:00 PM regular board meeting Agenda →
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BEFORE THE BOARD MEETING there is a separately posted FY27 Budget Hearing — both hearings and the regular meeting are on Thursday Sept. 17 |
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Bradley SD 61 has migrated from BoardDocs to Community by Diligent — find all current agendas and minutes at bradleyschools.community.diligentoneplatform.com |
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No agenda posted yet for Sept. 17 as of tonight's scrape — check the new portal for updates |
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Manteno CUSD 5 · Board of Education
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Tue, Aug 25 Agenda →
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The 2026-27 tentative budget was on the agenda to go on 30-day public display, with adoption listed as a future action item — Manteno was the last of the five districts to… |
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Handbook changes for the high school, middle school, elementary school and the district all sat in a single consent item, six days into a school year that started Aug. 19 |
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Also up: an intergovernmental agreement with the Kankakee Area Special Education Cooperative for audiological services, a first reading of board policies, a funds transfer… |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Tue, Sep 29 · 6:30 PM
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Budget adoption — the 2026-27 budget has been on 30-day public display since Aug. 25. |
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No agenda posted yet. Manteno’s Google Drive folder for 9/29/26 exists and was still empty tonight; the district’s agendas typically appear about five days out |
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For your calendar: Manteno’s board meets on TUESDAYS this year, not the fourth Monday — 9/29, 10/27, 11/17 and 12/15 are the rest of the fall |
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Bourbonnais Elementary PTA
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WHAT HAPPENED Tue, Sep 1 Minutes →
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Movie Night is ON for tentatively Sept. 25 at $5 a person. |
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Treasurer’s report: $22,901.06 on hand, boosted by a $7,750.89 spring online auction. Membership open at $6 through a new Zeffy ticketing link |
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Spirit wear sales extended through Sept. 21 after 100 items sold in the first weeks; the first restaurant night is Culver’s on Sept. 16 |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Tue, Oct 6 · 7:00 PM Agenda →
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Next regular meeting — the PTA runs first Tuesdays, with the full fall schedule published: Oct. 6, Nov. 3, Dec. 1, then Feb. 2, Mar. 2, Apr. 6 and May 4 |
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Between now and then: Culver’s restaurant night Wednesday Sept. 16, spirit wear webstore through Sept. 21, Movie Night tentatively Sept. 25 at $5 (ticketing details still… |
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The PTA is still looking for a BUGC parent representative — that chair is listed as OPEN |
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Manteno PTO
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Thu, Sep 3
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The PTO opened its year Thursday night, Sept. 3, in the Manteno Middle School library — first meeting since spring, open to all Manteno PreK-8 parents and teachers |
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One thing came out of it publicly: the SECRETARY SEAT IS OPEN. Email Manteno5pto@gmail.com to be considered; the vote is at the October meeting |
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The PTO publishes no agenda and no minutes, so nothing else from that night is confirmable |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Thu, Oct 1 · 7:00 PM
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Secretary election — email Manteno5pto@gmail.com first if you want to be considered for the seat |
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First Thursday of the month, at the Elementary library. The PTO alternates buildings: Oct. 1 and Dec. 3 at Elementary, Nov. 5 back at the Middle School |
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See all school board meetings →
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⛽ Cheapest Gas in K3 Today
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Murphy USA
— 507 Riverstone Parkway, Kankakee
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$4.29
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Love's Travel Stop
— 3407 S State Rd, Kankakee
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$4.29
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Speedway
— 2925 Riverstone Pkwy, Kankakee
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$4.29
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Prices sourced from GasBuddy and may be inaccurate or out of date — always confirm at the pump.
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