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A bit of history

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* From Kankakee Daily Journal columnist Phil Angelo…

Whatever happens next, Kankakee County will be represented in Congress, sometime later this spring, by an African-American.

That has never happened in the 160-year history of the county.

* Not only that, but City of Kankakee Democrats nominated Jarman Myron Porter as their mayoral candidate. Porter is black - another first. [Actually, a second, as I was just informed in comments.]

* I was born in Kankakee, as were most members of my dad’s family. Here’s a pic of my dad and me in my grandma’s front yard on Tanner Avenue, near the old Roeper factory, where my dad and at least one uncle worked…

Roeper’s closed in the 80s and moved to Florida, devastating Kankakee. It was a rough time for everybody back then - 19 percent unemployment in a town that had always been bursting with jobs.

* Back in the 60s, the local bank’s big electronic sign that advertised their interest rates and local charity events used “KKK” as shorthand for Kankakee. K3 wasn’t known as the most liberal town for race relations, to put it mildly.

White flight plagued the city of Kankakee for decades. Whites flooded into nearby bedroom communities in Kankakee County (or out of state when the jobs dried up in the early 1980s) when the schools were desegregated, and I heard lots of stories about street fights and protests during those times.

I don’t think I have a single relative who still lives in the city, but several live in the county.

* Anyway, I don’t know the real purpose of this except to say that I find Angelo’s column and Porter’s nomination fascinating, considering the history. And maybe we can convince my dad to tell a few stories in comments.

Also, I should stress here that I am not at all ashamed to be from Kankakee. Yeah, it had its problems, but what town didn’t? The challenge has always been overcoming those problems, and that’s where Kankakee hasn’t really measured up. We’ll see what the future holds.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 1:43 pm

Comments

Despite not being very familiar with the area I think this is a very interesting post, Rich. It’s the story of almost all Midwest American cities of a certain size isn’t it? The jobs leave, the whites leave for the suburbs. Minorities (mostly blacks) left behind to try to be self-supporting in economically distressed urban areas….

Curious…..Are you suggesting that the changes in representation’s race is due to progressive or color blind voters across the county? Or because white flight has resulted in an mostly-black city who will obviously elect a black mayor? Are the voters really choosing an African American US Representative - or are they stuck with one due to Democratic gerrymandering of congressional districts?

(BTW, You’ve changed a LOT since the picture was taken.)

Comment by BleugrassBoy Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 1:58 pm
Baby Rich posing next to the Baby Obamallac

Comment by Boone's is Back Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:02 pm
===.Are you suggesting that the changes in representation’s race is due to progressive or color blind voters across the county? Or because white flight has resulted in an mostly-black city who will obviously elect a black mayor?===

Both, but I’m not sure that he’s heading for a win yet. We’ll see.

===Are the voters really choosing an African American US Representative - or are they stuck with one due to Democratic gerrymandering of congressional districts?===

Both.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:03 pm
I like the car. What is the make and model?

Comment by Endangered Moderate Species Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:04 pm
BiB, that was a 1957 Oldsmobile 98.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:04 pm
Rich, Porter isn’t the first African-American to be nominated for Mayor by the Democratic party in Kankakee. Robert Snipes was in 2009.

Comment by God's Country Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:05 pm
GC, thanks.

Comment by Rich Miller Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:06 pm
Rich, I see your BMI hasn’t changed much from your youth…I know “Bite you”.

Comment by PublicServant Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:10 pm
That’s one sweet ride. All steel, no seatbelts and built to move on two-bits a gallon.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:18 pm
So J Cubed wasn’t their rep?

Comment by Cheryl44 Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:32 pm
Having been born in 1951 and growing up in a small north central Illinois town, I remember well the times, and the impact that the loss of the town dominant employer had on the community. As I near the end of my career, I find myself a bit nostalgic for what appeared to be a simpler time but in reality, there was much about the 50s and early 60s that really needed changing. Hopefully we are better for all the turmoil of the mid to late 60s and early 70s as we continue our struggle towards real democracy. Absolutely LOVE the car and I must say that your dad looks like he was way cool. What year was the picture taken?

Comment by nobody Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:33 pm
I grew up in Limestone Township just outside the city limits. The Roper lawn mower plant on Station Street employed about half the families in my neighborhood. The corporate HQ was nearby too and the Roper oven plant was in nearby Bradley. All three closed and moved those jobs south. Devastating is an understatement and Kankakee never recovered.

White flight started long before then though. In the late 60’s and 70’s the river was a dividing line. Westview HS was mostly white while Eastridge was largely black. Those who could afford to sent their kids to Bishop Mac or moved outside the city.

Given its proximity to Chicago, Kankakee could make a comeback if only it could solve some of its racial problems. There are beautiful, historic homes along the river you could get for a song, if only the city put some effort into addressing some of its many issues.

Thanks for the memories Rich.

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:36 pm
RICH who stole your hub caps

Comment by Bud guy Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:36 pm
Wonder if the same landscaper doing so many homes now in Kankakee did the lot featured in the photo.

At least they’re not dumping poison all over to get rid of a few weeds.

Comment by Kasich Walker, Jr. Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:38 pm
Jackson was elected as Kankakee’s first African American Congressman in 2012.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:43 pm
Rich you were an adorable baby!

Comment by 3rd Generation Chicago Native Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:47 pm
K3 for years was controlled by Ed McBroom. In those days if you wanted a job, you had to buy a Cadillac from McBroom Cadillac.

Comment by Stones Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:48 pm
As a baby Rich Miller was pulled from his dad’s 57 Olds after chasing the neighbors down the street and running over several pets. And know you know why people really left Kankakee!

Comment by WazUp Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:58 pm
This is the other half of redistricting + gentrification: You can’t both block minority voters into the cities AND run them out of the cities at the same time. I think you’ll see this happen in quite a few areas nationwide

Comment by Hammer Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 2:59 pm
This picture was taken right before we left for your baptism. The Olds had red and black leather interior, power everything, was made for cruising and only cost $400 in 1963!
As a kid I couldn’t ride in the back of the bus as it was reserved for “colored people”, even though they were not on the west bus because they were not allowed to live on the west side. I couldn’t go up to the balcony to watch the movie either. My first job was as a 15 year old bellboy at a downtown hotel that did not allow “colored” travelers to stay, even in the $2 rooms used to house drunks for the night or people dropped off by the cops to spend the night before taking the bus out of town in the morning. Ropers first hired non-white males for factory work 1 Feb 1963, also my first day of work there (although one token office worker and most of the janitors were non-white). We lived in West Kankakee that was still all-white until not too many years ago. The old-line Democrats shafted their black mayoral candidatein the past and they will do it again!

Comment by Rich Miller Sr Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 3:06 pm
Ed McBroom and Chuck Pangle are still shaking their heads wondering what happened. Times change. Porter has great potential. I went to high school with him and his brother. Strong family and committed to making K3 better. Thanks for sharing the story, Rich. Almost made me homesick… almost.

Comment by deeznuts Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 3:22 pm
I lived in K3 from 1954 to 1967. Stones is exactly right about Big Ed McBroom. I knew his son, and when his parents had a party, all the big shots were there. Listening to all that was a political education you could get nowhere else. I played Little League on Roper Stove, coached by Buddy Birr…best teacher I ever had.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 3:29 pm
No Hubcaps was in back then, or maybe replace the the originals with Baby Moons, but more likely than not the Oldsmobile Hub Caps were Stolen, because Olds came had “Spinner” hubcaps, a prime target for Midnight Auto Parts Operatives.

Worked at both the Roper Stove Factory on Station Street and at Bradley Roper ( garden tractors & equip).

African - American Theodis Pace ran a credible race for Mayor in the 90’s as an Independent , against Dem. Joe Ciaccio, and the victor Rep. Don Green.

Mr. Miller is correct about the turmoil. Major fights.

Big time white flight.

And when the factories shut down(Roper, A.O Smith, Gen. Foods…) bunches more of us fled to find a job.

Comment by x ace Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 3:34 pm
I grew up in Oak Lawn in the 60s, so I know about the white flight stuff. I asked my parents about why there, and they told me the VA would not lend them the money to buy the house they wanted in Austin, as they didn’t do mortgages for white people to live in the city at the time.

When Oak Lawn finally hired black police officers, they hired two so each would have someone to talk to, and they waived the residency requirement. This was some time in the early 90s.

Comment by Cheryl44 Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 4:14 pm
Rich got BAPTIZED???!!!

Comment by Dawn Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 4:25 pm
Just for the record it was Roper Stove in KKK not Roeper (like in Richard). Many men from the 30 square mile area who were not farming fed their families by working at Roper, General Mills, Kroehler’s and AO Smith back in the day. People in surrounding communities went to see the specialist doctors in KKK and shopped in downtown KKK.

Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 4:29 pm
General Foods, I mean.

Comment by Responsa Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 4:31 pm
Hey, where’s the beard?

Handsome kid - nice looking car. Proud dad.

Comment by dupage dan Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 4:46 pm
Vanilla Man

True JJJ was elected Congressman from Kankakee last November, but he resigned before the new session of Congress began this January and that is when the new District lines were ‘officially’ in place in regards to who your Representative is.
So Kankakee County did elect an AA Congressman in JJJ but hasn’t had one served until either Ms Kelly or Mr McKinley are elected this April.

train111

Comment by train111 Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 5:20 pm
jesse jackson never served as k3’s member of congress, as he resigned before he would have been sworn in. robin kelly will have that distinction, and i dare say that she will do k3 proud. robin lives SOUTH of i-80, in the south suburbs. while all 4 of the geographical segments of the new 2nd have their own unique issues, this is true of all CDs that are not completely urban. sad that the newspaper has to make something out of the fact that its new MC will be black…

Comment by bored now Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 5:21 pm
Think both Generals were there , General Foods had a Corn Mill and Dogfood Plant on North Hobbie Ave, and a Coupon Center on Court Street a little East of the Courthouse and General Mills was South of Town west across the RR Tracks from A.O. Smith.
Armour Drug Mfg., Armstrong Cork , J.R. Short Milling, and the Kankakee Foundry were among other factory providing jobs back then.
And don’t forget a couple brothers named Ryan who had some serious juice in local K3 politics and then beyond.

Comment by x ace Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 6:03 pm
The picture also reveals Mr. Miller, Sr.’s Olds parked in a typical West Kankakee ( wrong side of the street )manner. “

Comment by x ace Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 6:12 pm
Isn’t that a good feeling when once in awhile, like in Kankakee, you witness things getting more and more progressive. It’s great to see the openness of its’ residents. Sad thing is that we don’t see MORE of such develepmonts in other places in Illinois, let alone elsewhere in many of the 50 States…! But that’s why we hope–there is always hope for things to get better if people will only look for it and believe it’s there, and then, like Kankakee, slowly but surely, start working toward the realizAtion of hope–that’s where all of the hard work TO that end and faith IN it are confirmed and folks suddenly see that all of the sacrifice and days of longing were worth it as true progress toward a more just and well-balnanced community are at least PARtially brought to fruition…

Comment by Just The Way It Is One Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 6:40 pm
There are certainly a lot of changes happening in Kankakee right now. Porter certainly has a chance but it’s likely the city’s first female mayor will be reelected. She’ll likely be the city’s last Republican mayor because of the city’s changing demographics. Not just among African Americans but Hispanics too. The success of our community will be tied directly to our ability to overcome racial challenges AND turf wars/cronyism that has greatly held us back and has nothing to do with race.

Comment by K3 Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 7:58 pm
When I go to Bull’s put bar-b-q on Station Street, all I see is racial harmony and good eatin’. You should try it if you’ve never been there-it’s the real deal. And I like mayor Nina, too.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 8:25 pm
Responsa remembers it right. As an Iroquois County kid, my Dad and others worked in K3 and farmed on the side. I took my dates to Sammy’s Pizza and bought my suit for my senior picture at Jimmy Holmes.

Comment by Way Way Down Here Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 8:40 pm
The comments convey a profound sense of change. As an elderly person, I am astounded by our progress. So many breakthroughs that I never expected to see in my lifetime. Kankakee may lag in some ways, but it has many things going for it that provide definite hope.

Music, the arts, and ironically the Vietnam War placed us on a course that changed our world in an incredibly short period of time. But I never underestimate what a bright person with a conscience can do to change the world. All this is why I value Capfax so much. Thanks Mr. Miller, Sr.

Comment by east central Tuesday, Mar 5, 13 @ 9:08 pm
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Comment by unsecured loans Wednesday, Mar 6, 13 @ 5:09 am
I was the senator for a large portion of Kankakee for a number years when i was redistricked in 1990.People were very hospitable, the press was wary of a new guy but they were fair.They had hard times but so did Joliet which i also represneted.Bottom line, there were a lot of great people there.

Comment by door gunner Wednesday, Mar 6, 13 @ 7:51 am
All the mid sized towns faced the same trouble Look at Spring patch since the manufacturing left. The east side looks like inner city Detroit . The list goes on and on in cities and small towns throughout Illinois..one company leaving is all it takes to unwind the Fabric of a communit.y We live in a completely different world than the what the 60-80s had to offer.

Comment by The Cardinal Wednesday, Mar 6, 13 @ 7:56 am
I guess my hometown of Harvey is the only one that hasn’t changed since my childhood in the nineteen forties. How do I do one of those smiley faces again?

Comment by wishbone Wednesday, Mar 6, 13 @ 4:29 pm