Kankakee

Formed February 11, 1853 (100^th county)

Kankakee County (107,508), Kankakee (24,076)                

The domed Beaux Arts and Greek Revival courthouse was built in 1912 to replace the 1855 courthouse.  The courthouse sits on a square at Court Street, Harrison Avenue, Merchant Service and Indiana Avenue.  Illinois Highway 17 is Court Street.  Zachary Taylor Davis is the architect for this masonry structure.  The grounds feature veteran memorials.  Kankakee County was created on February 11, 1853 out of parts of Will, Livingston, and Iroquois counties as the 100^th county.  Kankakee has always been the county seat.  The county and county seat are named for the Kankakee River.  Kankakee County was the birthplace of 1 Illinois Governor, Lennington Small. 

Kankakee County government consists of a sheriff and 28 Commissioners.  Nine Circuit Court Judges serve Kankakee and Iroquois.  The county is in northeast Illinois on the border with Indiana.  Chicago, Illinois is north and Peoria, Illinois is southwest of the county.  The county center is in Kankakee 2.2 miles Northeast of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Will County and Indiana and Iroquois, Ford, Livingston, and Grundy counties. 

The area of the county is 676 square miles.  It is 27 out of 102 in the state.  It ranks 18 out of 102 in population in the state.  It has a density of 159.0 persons per square mile making it 20 out of 102 in the state.  Kankakee County has 74.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 57 crosses north to south from Will County to Iroquois County.  United States Highways 45/52 parallel Interstate Highway 57 from Will to Iroquois counties.  The county is a box truck facing west.  The City of Kankakee is located slightly south of center in the county.  Kankakee is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 22.4% of the county population.  This county is in the Kankakee-Bradley Metropolitan Statistical Area.