The much-anticipated renovation of the historic Kankakee County Courthouse will soon commence, beginning with design work that was approved by the County Board.

The renovation, first announced in June of 2025, will utilize a $6 million appropriation from the state of Illinois through Gov. JB Pritzker’s office. The Board unanimously approved on Tuesday an amount not to exceed $250,000 to Cole Jarvis Architect, of Bourbonnais, for architectural service of the Kankakee County Courthouse.

The first part of this phase is $120,960 for the schematic design, which leaves just more than $129,000 for the next step.

“As we move into the design and documentation portion of the project, the estimated cost is $151,000,” said County Program Manager Eric Cavender. “I will tell you we are not going to spend that much money based on some modifications that are being made. Therefore, we are requesting to amend the original resolution [that was] to not exceed $300,000 to get us through this portion of the project. Then as we move on to the next phase, we will come back and seek additional funding as well.”

Kankakee County Board Chairman Matthew Alexander-Hildebrand said the county will fund the work in parts.

“We just don’t want a blank check, so we want to keep coming back and asking,” he said.

The biggest portions of the renovation are prioritized as a 100% generator backup for the entire building, HVAC improvements, and constructing a 10th courtroom. The court has 10 judges and nine courtrooms

“Those are the major upgrades, which will cost a lot of money,” Alexander-Hildebrand said.

Also included in the renovation is a new roof, paint, carpeting, restroom upgrades, and other modifications to the courthouse that will mark its 114th birthday in July.

BEAR Construction, of Rolling Meadows, was selected in June as the construction management firm to oversee the entire project. BEAR has an office in Bradley.

Construction work will likely begin this summer of what is estimated to be a 14-month project. Alexander-Hildebrand said it’s the best use of the $6 million appropriation.

“I think it’s going to be long term,” he said. “This will help us over the next 30 years, having 100% generator backup. We don’t have that now.”

Years ago, there was talk of possibly building a new courthouse to replace the current one at 450 E. Court St. in Kankakee. Construction was completed in 1912 at a cost of $187,000. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007.

“If we built a new courthouse, it would be over $100 million, and that’s probably not going to happen in my lifetime,” Alexander-Hildebrand said.

Animal control for Kankakee

The Board also unanimously approved a resolution authorizing an intergovernmental agreement between the city of Kankakee and Kankakee County for the county to provide the city animal and rabies control.

The agreement was effective Jan. 1, and the city will pay the county $35,000 annually for those services. The city unanimously approved the agreement on Nov. 17, 2025.

“We do it for other municipalities,” Alexander-Hildebrand said. “Happy to have the city of Kankakee on board. This is good for us and them.”