Kankakee Mayor Chris Curtis says the city intends to continue the Kankakee Regional Land Bank Authority after Kankakee County leaves the partnership that created it. The authority’s six-member board currently has three county and three city representatives; Curtis told Shaw Local that it would become city-appointed and that the change would not negatively affect city residents: Shaw Local’s report.
Curtis also described a possible consolidation with the city’s Neighborhood Stabilization Project, which was established to repair run-down homes but has not gotten off the ground. According to Shaw Local, he expects the city to move the project’s $162,000 budget into the land bank and plans to apply for an Illinois Housing Development Authority grant that could be worth as much as $800,000.
Funding and the land bank’s first property sale
Kankakee County and the city formed the land bank through an intergovernmental agreement in March 2021. Each had received a $175,000 planning and operations grant, and the launch funding came through the Illinois Housing Development Authority’s Strong Communities Program, a statewide initiative supporting work on abandoned residential properties, according to Shaw Local’s 2021 report.
The city had received a separate $52,000 award in November 2019 through the state’s Land Bank Capacity Program. That program was funded with proceeds from a national mortgage settlement, according to the Illinois announcement.
The authority’s first acquisition and sale was a multi-unit property at 831 S. Washington Ave. The Economic Alliance of Kankakee County reported that the land bank acquired it through a deed in lieu of foreclosure, cleared the tax liens and sold it to a local contractor. Under the sale terms, the contractor had 12 months to rehabilitate the property and bring it into compliance with city codes: Economic Alliance of Kankakee County.
County Board Chairman Matthew Alexander-Hildebrand told Shaw Local that the county is leaving as the project’s initial grant funds begin to run out and plans to direct its resources elsewhere. He described the departure as separate from the county’s relationship with the city and said he believes the city has appointed professionals suited to continue the work.
