Through the lens of those outside of Kankakee County’s boundaries, the often-crafted narrative puts the region under the worst of light.

Those camera lights may focus on a murder, a fire, a protest, a flood.

Those perspectives, while on one hand they are true, on the other hand they present a false image.

“The future of this county is not determined by the worst thing that happens this year or last year,” explained Kankakee County State’s Attorney Jim Rowe, the last of 11 community leaders to take to the stage at the annual State of the County program Tuesday at Olivet Nazarene University.

“It is determined by where we choose to work together,” Rowe charged. “Where we choose accountability over excuses; responsibility over blame; and hope over cynicism.”

Before an audience of about 250 in Olivet Nazarene University’s Chalfant Hall for the annual event coordinated by the Kankakee County Chamber of Commerce, Rowe took the step further.

He explained in a quiet moment before lawyers, defendants and a judge filled the empty courtroom, he stared at two files. The files reminded him of something he can never forget.

The legal system can respond to crime, he said, but a community can prevent it.

“And if we are willing to stand together – to demand justice, to raise our standards, and to refuse to look the other way – then the story of this county will not be written by the wrong moments," he said.

“It will be written by the people who had the courage to build something better.”

The state’s attorney points to developments and upgrades stretching from one end of the county line to its other. He spoke of improvements in Pembroke, Bradley, Kankakee, Bourbonnais.

He spoke of Manteno, Momence, Herscher, St. Anne and Grant Park and all points between.

He spoke of what is being done as well as what can be done if the citizens want better or if they are simply satisfied by what the Chicago television news stations decide to present.

He spoke of communities working together rather than by themselves.

“Don’t tell us communities like ours can’t overcome generational challenges. Don’t tell me crime is inevitable, that standards have to fall, that chaos is just the cost of modern life,” he said as he became more motivational speaker than state’s attorney.

“If you believe those things, you don’t know Kankakee County. You don’t know the people who wake up before dawn to go to work. You don’t know the officers who run toward danger.”

He then included teachers who do not give up on students. Parents who still believe discipline is love. He included farmers, factory workers and small business owners, pastors, coaches and volunteers who also fail to accept defeat.

“You don’t know us,” he said of those news cameras. “Because when something threatens our neighborhoods. When something threatens our kids. When something threatens our future, Kankakee County doesn’t scatter. Kankakee County stands up.”

Many messages

Messages from organizations such as the region’s Farm Bureau, Kankakee County Board, the county’s health department, Visit Kankakee County and the local workforce board were also delivered.

Two other organizations – the Kankakee County Sheriff’s Department and the Economic Alliance of Kankakee County – also provided key messages.

Angela Morrey, Economic Alliance president and CEO, said some county areas – chiefly Momence – experienced real economic hardships with lost businesses and employers.

But while there are some 52,000 people in the county’s labor force either working or seeking work, there remains about 3,000 others simply not doing either.

This chronically-unemployed group of 3,000 keeps the county’s unemployment numbers above most other Illinois counties, Morrey said.

However, on the positive side, this region works together more than any other across the state.

In addition to getting people jobs, she is also working with others to get people into houses or apartments. New ones, that is.

The county has been nearly stalled for the past 15 years in terms of new housing.

During this time frame, she said, the region has averaged fewer than 100 new homes per year. Last year, Kankakee County had only 76 new houses built.

“It’s not enough,” she said.

SAFE-T Act

Kankakee County Sheriff Mike Downey said while there are many reasons to celebrate strides being made in Kankakee County, there remain issues.

He noted the Tri-County Auto Theft Task Force, an organization made up of police from Kankakee, Will and Grundy counties, opened a whopping 560 cases this past year. The group recovered 306 of the vehicles, which had a value of $6.6 million.

A frequent target for Downey has been the much-debated SAFE-T Act. At issue for Downey and many others is the law’s limitations on holding suspected criminals.

Often, he said, these same individuals released from custody take their “get out of jail” card and commit more crime.

“You heard that right. The reality we are seeing, day in and day out, is repeat offenders being arrested, processed and released, only to commit the same non-detainable crimes again within days or even hours,” Downey said.

He pointed to numerous images of one such offender, whom he did not mention by name.

Since the Sept 18, 2023, inception of the SAFE-T Act, this offender, he said, has been arrested 11 times for motor vehicle theft and crimes of opportunity.

All 11 cases are pending in court.

“But when the system consistently releases individuals without meaningful consequences, it undermines accountability and public confidence.”

The same names, he said, are found over and over on police reports.

“These are habitual offenders who know how to exploit a system that lacks meaningful consequences. They understand that the odds are in their favor, that even when they are caught, they will likely be back on the street before the paperwork is finished.”