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The Bourbs Daily
Monday, October 12, 2026 ☀ 88°/70° — Mostly Sunny
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Editor's Note
Good Monday morning, Kankakee County. Dale here, and before you check your phone, let me remind you -- it's Columbus Day. That means some of you have the day off, the banks are closed, and a few school kids are sleeping in right now while the rest of the county shows up for work. Either way, it's a good morning for it. We're squarely in the middle of October, the harvest is rolling, and if you haven't taken that drive down River Road to see the leaves, today would be a fine day for it. Let's see what's happening around K3.
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View all news articles →
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📅 Out & About in Kankakee County
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It's Columbus Day, so county offices and a few schools are closed, which means some families have an unplanned day together. Explore KCC Day gives kids a free look at campus, and Ice Valley Centre is running a special no-school skate. Pick one, or do both.
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★ Featured
12:00PM
Explore KCC Day
Kankakee Community College
Kankakee Community College (KCC), the county's community college, opens its doors for anyone curious about programs, services, and what campus actually looks like. Free, noon to 2, no appointment needed.
FREE
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★ Also Featured
12:30PM
Kids' Day Out: School's Out, Skates On!
Ice Valley Centre Ice Arena
With schools closed for the holiday, Ice Valley Centre, the county's ice rink on River Road, is running a special session for the day off -- open skate, drop-in hockey, and freestyle, all from 12:30 to 2:30.
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Throwback
Sunday's Manteno Fire Department Open House had families touring the station, climbing on the trucks, and meeting the crew -- a small turnout event that always lands well with kids. See event
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Plan ahead
Next Sunday, Downtown Kankakee's Rotary-run Halloween festival takes over South Schuyler Avenue with trunk-or-treating, games, music, and food vendors from 10 to 4. See event
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See all 19 events on BradleyIllinois.com →
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📜 Dale's Corner
The Country Church in October
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Out in the townships — southeast toward St. Anne and on down to Papineau just over the Iroquois County line, northeast toward Grant Park, west toward Limestone — you'll find country churches that look like they grew out of the fields. Small frame buildings, cemeteries attached to the back or the side, parking lots that still have gravel, marquee signs where someone changes the letters by hand every week. These are not big operations. Some of them have congregations in the dozens. A lot of them have been serving the same rural communities for generations, going back to when the townships were full of farm families who needed a church close enough to reach by horse and wagon. The denominations vary — Methodist, Baptist, Catholic mission churches, Lutheran, evangelical — but the structure is always the same: a building, a cemetery, a community held together by the people who keep showing up. In the fall, a lot of these churches hold harvest dinners. Check the sign out front or call ahead, because every church sets its own date. Chicken suppers, beef and noodles, the kind of food that doesn't come from a catering company. The community shows up, the tables fill, the bake sale table is cleared out by 6pm. The money goes to the building fund or the cemetery maintenance or the food pantry. A lot of these churches have lost members over the decades as rural populations declined and families moved to town. Some have merged with other congregations. But the ones that are still running, still setting out those folding tables in October — they're worth supporting if you're in the area.
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Dale says: The best thing about a Monday holiday is that the people who have it off feel lucky, and the people who don't tell themselves they'd be bored anyway. Both are lying a little, and that's fine.
— Dale
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🏛 This Week in Local Government
What your boards just did — and what they take up next.
Tonight's run (Mon. Oct. 12): BRADLEY VILLAGE BOARD MET TONIGHT (6:30 PM) — waterpark construction bid award, bank loan ordinance, Bourbonnais Road District referendum support, gas station SUP.
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Bourbonnais · Village Board
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Mon, Oct 5 Agenda →
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Oct. 5 Regular Village Board Meeting occurred (5:30 PM) — Resolution No. 26-1656 (Appointing Deputy Village Clerks), Accounts Payable (General Fund and Special Fund bill… |
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Finance Committee met Sept. 30 (4:00 PM): Police Pension Actuarial Report, KACC SRO discussion, May–July 2026 financial results on agenda — outcomes not yet confirmed. |
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Sept. 21 Village Board outcomes still pending: ORD 26-2562 (PSI Construction Special Use Permit PUD), car rental taxes ORD 26-2563/2564, and Proclamation 26-399 (Village… |
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Bradley · Village Board
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Mon, Oct 12 Agenda →
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Oct. 12 Regular Village Board Meeting OCCURRED TONIGHT (6:30 PM, Insurance & Finance Committee at 6:15 PM) — R-10-26-01: Resolution accepting SWPPP, Earthwork and Site… |
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Oct. 5 Fire & Police Commission met (6:00 PM) — officer resignation effective Oct. 21; 15-day disciplinary notification; lateral officer hiring (2 applicants). |
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Oct. 6 Planning & Zoning Commission met (6:30 PM) — gas station at 820 N. Bradley Blvd. considered; July 7 minutes approval. No outcomes confirmed yet. |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Mon, Oct 26 · 6:30 PM Agenda →
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Oct. 26 Regular Village Board Meeting (4th Monday) — no agenda posted yet |
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Kankakee · City Council
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WHAT HAPPENED Mon, Oct 5 Minutes →
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Oct. 5 City Council meeting occurred (7:00 PM) — zoning: rezone at 1338 E. Chestnut (R-1 to R-2), conditional use permit at 348–354 S. Foley Ave.; new firefighters Philip… |
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Sept. 21 City Council OUTCOMES CONFIRMED (minutes posted): ORD amending Ch. |
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Watch: Alderwoman Marczak flagged data centers / Kankakee River water usage as an issue to watch in future meetings. |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Mon, Oct 19 · 7:00 PM Agenda →
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Next regular City Council meeting — Oct. 19 (no agenda posted yet) |
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Manteno · Village Board
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Mon, Oct 5 Agenda →
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Oct. 5 Regular Village Board Meeting occurred (6:00 PM) — RECONSIDERATION of PSA with B&F Construction Code Services (vetoed by Pres. |
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Oct. 12 Regular Village Board Meeting CANCELLED (scheduling error — confirmed earlier this week). |
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Sept. 21 outcomes still pending: Chief Rick Peterson fire bureau appointment, IGA for fire inspection services, Jim Paicz Building Inspector appointment, LIUNA CBA… |
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Kankakee County · County Board
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Tue, Oct 6 Agenda →
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Board of Review met Oct. 6 — 2026 tax appeal first reviews, state exemption applications, certificates of error. No outcomes confirmed. |
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Kankakee County ZBA met Oct. 5 — agenda was posted. Outcomes pending. |
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Transportation Committee met Sept. 29 (METRO/SHOW BUS updates, vehicle procurement) — outcomes pending. |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Tue, Oct 13 · 9:00 AM Agenda →
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Full County Board meets TOMORROW Tues. Oct. 13 (9:00 AM) — AGENDA POSTED. |
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Lower Crossing Wind Project: Two resolutions — legal fee reimbursement (#153) and engineering cost reimbursement (#154) with Lower Crossing Wind LLC going to full board. |
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Langlois Roofing bid awards for roof replacements at three county buildings: Animal Control (Bourbonnais), Administration Building + Old VAC Building (Kankakee), Highway… |
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Essex · Village Board
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Thu, Oct 8 Minutes →
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SEPT. 3 CONFIRMED: Official minutes now posted — Mayor Dvorak spoke with Constellation Energy about former nuclear site north of Essex. |
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OCT. 8 Regular Board Meeting occurred (6 PM, Village Hall). |
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October 1 meeting was CANCELLED — officially rescheduled to October 8 per village notice. |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Thu, Nov 5 · 6:00 PM Agenda →
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Next regular meeting — 1st Thursday of November (Nov. 5, 6:00 PM) — no agenda posted yet. |
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Watch: data center/Constellation ordinance development; any update on Oct. 8 closed-session litigation matter. |
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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.
BBCHS SD 307 advanced its superintendent search through a Sept. 28 special meeting (candidate profile development, search firm selection discussion) following firm presentations on Sept. 15 and Dr. Vosberg’s resignation on Sept. 14.
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Bourbonnais SD 53 · Board of Education
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Tue, Sep 22 Agenda →
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FY27 budget hearing (public comment opened) and budget adoption vote (item 7.01) — outcomes not yet confirmed |
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Termination of Dawn Pacheco, employee-at-will, was on consent |
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PRESS Plus 122 policy package on second reading — final adoption expected |
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Bradley SD 61 · School Board
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Thu, Sep 17 Agenda →
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FY27 budget adoption vote (after 6:45 PM public hearing) — outcome not yet confirmed |
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17 new hires on consent; 5 resignations including Nikki Stump (Executive Administrative Assistant) |
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PRESS Policy Issue 122: 9 policies on second reading, 13 on first reading |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Thu, Oct 15 · 7:00 PM
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Regular Board Meeting — Thursday, Oct. 15, 7:00 PM, District Office |
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No agenda posted as of Oct. 9 |
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BBCHS SD 307 · Board of Education
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WHAT HAPPENED Mon, Sep 28 Agenda →
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FY27 Budget ADOPTED 5-0 (Czako/Brezinski) — signed minutes confirmed |
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Dr. Matt Vosberg resignation ACCEPTED on consent 5-0 |
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BBEA 2026-2029 Master Contract confirmed (95% union vote at Aug. 24 special) |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Tue, Oct 13 · 6:00 PM Agenda →
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AGENDA CONFIRMED for Oct. 13 (Tuesday, 6:00 PM, Board Room, 700 W. North St., Bradley) |
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PSI (John Palan, Pezanoski Consulting) presents superintendent candidate profile — key superintendent search milestone |
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PRESS Issue 122 second readings for 12 policies |
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Kankakee SD 111 · Board of Education
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Mon, Sep 28 Agenda →
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Sept. 28 regular BOE: Policy 8:20 (Community Use of School Facilities) up for final adoption |
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Sunbelt Staffing LLC virtual school psychologist contract on agenda — credentialed-staff signal |
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Recall of RIF'd employees on consent (G.11); Over the Moon Pediatric Therapy Vision Teacher contract |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Tue, Oct 13 · 7:00 PM Agenda →
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AGENDA CONFIRMED for Oct. 13 (Tuesday, 7:00 PM, Mark Twain Primary School, 2250 E Court St, Kankakee) |
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School Reconfiguration — Information & Proposals (I.4): district-wide school boundary/configuration discussion |
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Schneider Electric LED Lighting District-Wide contract (H.2) |
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Manteno CUSD 5 · Board of Education
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MET — OUTCOMES NOT YET POSTED Tue, Sep 29 Agenda →
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FY27 budget hearing and adoption vote (Sept. 29) — occurred, outcomes pending signed minutes |
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Illuminate Financial Consultants Agreement — new financial advisor |
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Phone licensing renewal; HS Graduation and Senior Awards Night dates for FY27 |
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COMING UP — ON THE AGENDA Tue, Oct 27 · 6:30 PM Agenda →
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Oct. 27 (Tuesday, 6:30 PM): Next regular board meeting — Manteno HS Library (Manteno meets TUESDAYS, not Mondays) |
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Oct. 27 Google Drive folder exists but is empty — no agenda posted yet as of Oct. 10 |
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Sept. 29 meeting folder has only public agenda; no signed minutes posted yet |
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See all school board meetings →
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⛽ Cheapest Gas in K3 Today
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Gas Depot
— 400 North Dixie Hwy, Momence
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$4.39
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Love's Travel Stop
— 8316 N IL-1, Grant Park
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$4.49
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Casey's
— 421 N Dixie Hwy, Momence
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$4.49
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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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Edited and published by Stan Gromer • The Bourbs, independent local news for Kankakee County •
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