Photo: MrHarman at English Wikipedia · Public domainHow is Kankakee run?
Kankakee’s city government spent $54.2 million on day-to-day services in the year to April 30, 2024, about $2,297 per resident.
What stands out about how Kankakee is run
Read from the city’s budget and official records.
About $2,297 per resident a year, or $6.29 a day
Day-to-day services only. The biggest line: police, at 20%.
Thank you for being a neighbor
No comparison for Kankakee yet
The fair comparison uses 2022, the last year the Census Bureau counted every government (later years are a sample). Kankakee’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate (it reported none of its 2022 dollars), so it has no like-for-like peer figure. It reported 2024; the next full count is 2027.
How Town Hall compares budgets →Day-to-day spending is down 36% since 2023
Day-to-day services, in dollars, in the years Kankakee reported to the Census Bureau. Prices rose too: about 4% a year in 2022–2024.
Day-to-day spending by fiscal year
Per resident: 2023: $3,548 · 2024: $2,297.
full-time in March 2025, up from 209 in 2022.
Building projects, interest and enterprises (hospital, utilities) are left out, so a big construction year doesn’t read as growth.
The typical homeowner pays $3,054 a year
Every local property tax on the home: town, schools and county. About 2.91% of the home’s value, vs 2.01% across Illinois.
Typical yearly bill next door and statewide
The Housing page’s calculator splits a monthly payment into loan, tax and insurance at Kankakee’s rate.
Can I afford it? →The median bill homeowners report to the Census survey (bills of $10,000+ are reported as “$10,000+”). The effective rate is that bill ÷ the median home value: a rough guide, not the official tax rate.
Tax bills are one input to Kankakee’s Cost of living grade. Cost of living in Kankakee →
Who’s in charge in Kankakee
Names change after every election, so we link to the source that keeps them current.
Kankakee’s meeting calendar isn’t in our feed yet. The city posts agendas and minutes on citykankakee-il.gov ↗.
One full-time city employee for every 105 residents
On the payroll in March 2025, from the Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll. Residents: the Census population in the 2024 finance file (23,602).
By department full-time, plus part-time, March 2025
The Census reports one month’s payroll (March); yearly figures are that month × 12, an estimate. Part-timers count half in the bar lengths.
Bradley-Bourbonnais Consolidated High School District 307
Kankakee’s high school district, shared with Bourbonnais Township, Bourbonnais, Bradley, Ganeer Township. It’s its own government, with a budget separate from the town’s.
Of the $17,238 per pupil, $10,370 goes to the classroom (teachers, aides, supplies); the rest to buses, buildings, counselors and administration. Building projects and debt payments aren’t in the per-pupil figure.
Illinois districts overall: 52% local, 38% state, 10% federal.
Kankakee School District 111 · $19,298 per pupil
Central Community Unit School District 4 · $15,874 per pupil
Bradley School District 61 · $19,981 per pupil
School year 2023–24. Census Bureau school finance survey.
Kankakee’s votes are counted by county
Illinois reports official results by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Kankakee alone, and we don’t estimate them. These are Kankakee County’s results.
Donald J TrumpRepublican59.1%28,285 votes
Kamala D HarrisDemocrat38.5%18,399 votesOthers: 2.4% (1,155 votes).
Most votes in Kankakee County: Donald J Trump
Illinois: Harris 54.4%, Trump 43.5%
100% of Kankakee lies in Kankakee County. Every 2024 race in Kankakee County is on the county’s page.
Kankakee County’s 2024 results →Official 2024 general election returns, as certified (MIT Election Data + Science Lab). Percentages are of votes for candidates; blank and spoiled ballots aren’t counted. Candidates are listed by votes, and party colors are neutral on purpose.
Portraits: Kamala D Harris: official vice-presidential portrait, Lawrence Jackson, The White House, 2021; Donald J Trump: official portrait, Shealah Craighead, The White House, 2017. All are U.S. government works in the public domain. A race shows photos only when every candidate has an official portrait; otherwise every candidate in it gets initials.
From town hall to Washington
Every level of government that speaks for Kankakee.
- 1Your cityMayor & councilOfficials: citykankakee-il.gov ↗
- 2Illinois HouseKankakee is split between 2 districts
- 3Illinois SenateState senator
- 4GovernorStatewide
- 5U.S. HouseYour representative in Congress
- 6U.S. SenateBoth represent all of Illinois
Democrat · Republican · other or independent. Tap a name for their official page.
How Kankakee compares with the towns next door
Kankakee’s 2022 figures are a Census estimate, so it isn’t placed among them. Neighbors that reported 2022 spent $43 to $85 per resident. Tap a town to see its page.
| Town | Day-to-day, per resident (2022) | Tax bill |
|---|---|---|
| Kankakee Township | $43 | $3,198 |
| Aroma Township | $85 | $3,919 |
| Bradley | estimate | $4,049 |
| Kankakee | estimate | $3,054 |
Day-to-day spending in 2022, the last year every government was counted, for governments that reported it; hospital and utilities left out. Tax bill: the typical homeowner’s bill (Census ACS, 2020–24).
Reach Kankakee’s government
The official site has phone numbers, hours and forms. Neighbors add the rest to the Handbook.
Questions about Kankakee’s government
How much does Kankakee spend per resident?
About $2,297 per resident on day-to-day services in the year to April 30, 2024, as reported to the Census Bureau.
What is the property tax rate in Kankakee?
Homeowners report a typical bill of $3,054 a year (Census ACS, 2020–24), about 2.91% of the typical home’s value, vs 2.01% across Illinois. For the official rate per $1,000 of assessed value, see citykankakee-il.gov.
Who runs Kankakee’s government?
See citykankakee-il.gov for current officials. We name an official only when a public source lists a current term, and none does for Kankakee yet.
How did Kankakee vote in 2024?
Illinois counts votes by county and precinct, not by city, so there are no official results for Kankakee alone. Kankakee County, where 100% of Kankakee lies, voted Trump 59.1%, Harris 38.5% for president; its page has every race.
How many people work for Kankakee?
225 full-time and 38 part-time employees in March 2025, with a March payroll of $1.6M (about $19.5M a year if every month were the same), as reported to the Census Bureau.
Who represents Kankakee in the state legislature?
Kankakee is split among 2 State House districts and 2 State Senate districts, so your address decides. The Illinois Legislature’s lookup finds yours. Listed by Open States; districts from the Census Bureau.
Ask neighbors about Kankakee’s government
Neighbors who’ve been to the meetings can help.
Budget and staff: U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Governments (2022, every government) and Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (2023–24, a sample) and the Annual Survey of Public Employment & Payroll; day-to-day spending is current operations, with hospitals, utilities and airports apart. School district: Census school finance survey, 2023–24. Property tax: Census American Community Survey, 2020–24. Elections: official 2024 returns via the MIT Election Data + Science Lab; turnout uses Census citizen voting-age population (CVAP, 2020–24). Officials: Open States, names shown only with a current term (checked October 9, 2026). Districts: Census Bureau (119th Congress, 2024 state districts); legislators: Open States and congress-legislators. How Town Hall works →