In November of 1999 I had no intention of moving home to Kankakee, Illinois. The Places Rated Almanac that year had listed the Kankakee metropolitan area as number 354 - out of 354 places to live in the U.S. As a result Kankakee became the butt of more than a few jokes. The most notable was from Late Night host David Letterman. Letterman went so far as to send the city of Kankakee matching gazebos in a somewhat sarcastic attempt at bolstering morale and providing tourism appeal.
Some Kankakeeans laughed it off and disregarded the rating. But as I worked on my first job out of college halfway across the country -- I was bothered by the jokes and the ranking. But what bothered me most was that more than a few people in, and from, the Kankakee area seemed to believe in it all as if it were some sort of validation for a long-held negative community self image. Away from home I found myself defending Kankakee as I was introduced in social settings jokingly with a dig that would go something like, "This is my friend Bill - he's from the worst city in America."
This was at a stage in my life when I was searching for a place I wanted to call home. It seemed that the more I spoke up in defense of our beautiful river, our breathtaking Frank Lloyd Wright homes, the authentic feel of a small multicultural city the more I realized where home for me needed to be. Five years ago when my wife was offered a job near Kankakee I convinced her that I would find something to do, and I did. I taught grade school P.E., was a substitute high school teacher, wrote for the newspaper, read the news and obituaries on a local radio station and was the announcer for the stock car races at the Kankakee County Fairgrounds dirt track. Eventually, I moved into more stable jobs marketing the community college and a local business but all along my passion was promoting Kankakee and correcting those who said there were not opportunities here. Perhaps there are not some of the opportunities here a young person might have in a larger city but as a couple in our 20's we were able to buy the home across the street from the former governor of Illinois for less than the price of a one bedroom condo in Chicago. Only in Kankakee could all of those things come together. Sure, some will say that I wanted to be a big fish in a small pond. I would contend that I want to be in a pond where I can make an impact.
In the last year I went from someone who wrote letters in the local paper and printed Kankakee t-shirts as the self-titled "Unofficial Ambassador of Kankakeee" to landing a couple of titles with the city that make my status more official.
I was reminded of the twin gazebos recently when I was told that one of them needed a new coat of paint. The gazebos are still in use and the care for one of them is part of my responsibilities as Kankakee Chamber of Commerce Dir ector, Kankakee Development Corporation Executive and Downtown Farmers' Market Manager. Until recently, I never liked the gazebos much. Besides from being small, cheap, prefabricated structures they were also a reminder of our dubious status. But I have realized that there was something about having Kankakee insulted that helped make me become a more vocal advocate for the city. As someone who inherited the Cub fan gene I am drawn to the underdog and causes others have given up on.
While in the past nine years since Letterman's flatbed truck arrived at City Hall with a pair of gazebos the community has made some huge strides. But in many ways Kankakee is still something of an underdog. While our crime rate has plummeted since the 1990's, Kankakee's aging housing has taken a hit as foreclosures have become all too common across the country. We work at bringing more life in to our City's historic core in an age when a suburban mindset wants the ability to fall out of the SUV door into the destination. We are helping people see the potential in old buildings and streets and in an old city in need of people who can see that potential. While Kankakee had the unique dishonor of being number 354 out of 354, our challenges are not different from other small cities that have struggled compared to bigger sexier cities and newer suburban development.
While I have realized that Kankakee is not the only small city facing challenges, I am also now very aware that I am not alone in my civic pride here. The passion for our city is obvious in the mayor's office, at the circulation desk at the library, and in neighborhood organization meetings across the city.
In the past nine years new businesses and residents have made Kankakee their home. The Chicago Bears have moved training camp to nearby Olivet Nazarene University. Kankakee has its own minor league basketball team, and has maintained an outstanding theatre program and symphony. Downtown now features restaurants and coffee shops that were not there when the gazebos first came to town. Also renovated is the historic Illinois Central Depot where you can still ride the City of New Orleans line made famous in the folk song Steve Goodman penned of the same name, and Arlo Guthrie made famous.
A couple years ago Arlo came to Kankakee and sang the line, "On my southbound odyssey the train pulled out of Kankakee." Today as the train pulls out of Kankakee before it "rolls along past houses farms and fields" you may be able to catch a glimpse of one of those "David Letterman gazebos" in the new Depot Park downtown. The new park, fountain and railroad museum now overshadows the gazebo that was meant to be our tongue-in-cheek tourism hook.
Kankakee isn't perfect but I think we have moved beyond the need for twin gazebos. Maybe next fall to celebrate 10 years of having the pair perhaps we could plan a celebration that would include loading the gazebos on a flatbed truck and shipping them back to the Letterman estate. I don't know about anyone else but I would want to include a short note which would not be witty and may never even be read: "Mr. Letterman, sending Kankakee these things sort of ticked me off, but more than anything it inspired me and others to make our city better …so I guess I am saying thank you."
