Kankakee

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kankakee
The Kankakee County Courthouse in Kankakee
The Kankakee County Courthouse in Kankakee
Location in Illinois
Kankakee (Illinois)
Kankakee
Kankakee
Basic data
Foundation : 1853
State : United States
State : Illinois
County : Kankakee County
Coordinates : 41 ° 7 ′  N , 87 ° 52 ′  W Coordinates: 41 ° 7 ′  N , 87 ° 52 ′  W
Time zone : Central ( UTC − 6 / −5 )
Inhabitants :
-  Metropolitan Area :		 26,445 (as of 2016)
110,008 (as of 2016)
Population density : 830 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 33.15 km 2  (approx. 13 mi 2 ) of
which 31.86 km 2  (approx. 12 mi 2 ) is land
Height : 200 m
Postal code : 60901
Area code : +1 815, 779
FIPS : 17-38934
GNIS ID : 411300
Website : www.citykankakee-il.gov
Mayor : Donald Green

Kankakee ( [ˌkæŋkəˈki] ) is a city with 26,445 inhabitants (2016) in Illinois . It is located 83 km southwest of Chicago , 49 km southeast of Joliet , and 68 km southwest of Gary in the metropolitan area and is the administrative seat of Kankakee County .

geography

According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of ​​33.2 km², of which 31.9 km² is land and 1.3 km² (= 3.76%) is water. The Interstate 57 on the east side Kankakee over. US Highway 45 and Illinois Route 50 run through the urban area in a north-south direction . Coming from the northwest, Illinois Route 113 , which runs parallel to the Kankakee River, ends at Illinois Route 17, which runs in an east-west direction . On US Highway 45 which begins Illinois Route 115 , which at Kankakee Airport by initially heads south before turning at right angles to the west.

The Kankakee River runs southeast to northwest along the western city limits; West Kankakee borders on the western bank.

There are also several railway lines running through the city. In the east-west direction it is a railway line of Penn Central , from which a branch line branches off to the southeast. In north-south direction Kankakee crosses a railway line of the Illinois Central Railroad . Amtrak serves the city with the daily pair of trains Illinois and Saluki with one stop in each direction; for the pair of trains City of New Orleans , the Amtrak station Kankakees is a stop on demand .

history

The place got its name after the county. The post office founded on October 3, 1853 was initially named Kankakee Depot and was renamed Kankakee on June 7, 1866. The origin and meaning of the name are controversial. On the one hand, name researchers refer to a statement made by the Jesuit father Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix in 1721. According to this, the name goes back to the Mahican , who found refuge on the Kankakee River and means "wolf land" because this Indian tribe was also known as "wolves". According to other sources, the word for "swampy ground" in the language of the Potawatomi is the origin of the name. According to Edward Callary, the origin of the name is in Miami-Illinois , where the word "teeyaahkiki" means "open land" or "bare land". One reason for the different interpretations is the variety of documented name variations. This began with Robert Cavelier de La Salle , who first recorded the name of the river as "Téakiki" and later as "Teatiki" and "Theakiki". Other variants from the early land exploration are "Aue-que-que", "Ti-ah-ke-kink" and "Quin-que-que".

sons and daughters of the town

Mention in literature and art

Kankakee Railway Station

Kankakee is a stop on the City of New Orleans long-distance train and is mentioned by name in the song of the same name.

Kankakee, Illinois, from the air (looking west). On the left in the picture the confluence of the Iroquois River and Kankakee River. The Interstate 57 runs across the image.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ City of New Orleans, Illinois and Saluki ( English , PDF) Amtrak. May 7, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
  2. ^ Edward Callary: Place Names of Illinois . University of Illinois Press, Champaign, IL 2008, ISBN 978-0-252-03356-8 .