Truancy Numbers High in Kankakee & Iroquois Counties, Bourbonnais Fire Update, New Developments in the Kankakee Riverfront Trail - Thursday, April 23rd, 2026

In this episode of the WVLI News Update, Rob West provides a detailed report on several developing stories across the Kankakee and Iroquois County regions. The report begins with an account of a Thursday night residential fire in Bourbonnais and the resulting property damage assessment.

This episode also examines critical educational challenges as regional officials discuss high truancy numbers and the obstacles facing intervention teams. Additionally, the report covers a significant legislative move in the Illinois House that could impact the future of the Chicago Bears’ stadium project.

Other local highlights in this episode include a major charitable donation to 18 area high school athletic programs, the next phase of the Kankakee Riverfront Trail development, and upcoming community events focused on youth violence prevention.

Listen to the full episode for complete details on these local headlines, regional sports updates, and community news.

Listen to more great shows on the WVLI Podcast Network:

This One Time in Kankakee  (Narrative Storytelling)

Kankakee Valley Community Happenings  (Businesses & Non-Profits)

The voices you trust, beyond the dial. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:42

Urban A Fire Protection District Fire personnel called out to an apartment on East Grand Avenue Thursday night. Fire Chief Jim Keener says firefighters called out just before eleven o'clock Tuesday evening, found an electrical baseboard heater fire when they got there. Chief Keener says the apartments owned by Olivet, there were no injuries reported. The fire caused about$5,000 worth of damage to the apartments. During Wednesday morning's meeting of the Kankakee County Board's Executive Committee, the Kankakee, Iroquois County Regional Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Patricia High, told the committee that her office is tracking six hundred and one truant students in Kankakee County right now, another one hundred four truants in Iroquois County.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

Those uh numbers are very large, but again, it depends on the severity. So if a student is is truant for a certain number of days, the school has to have three efforts, interventions, uh, and then we then come in and have an effort or intervention.

SPEAKER_03 1:40

Dr. High was asked what can be done about the truancy issue.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

We do have like different interventions that we do, but our our truancy staff, I have seven team members that are amazing, and I had just a conversation yesterday. One of them went to four home visits in one day just to get kids at school. Parents don't want to put up the fight sometimes, and it's just sometimes our hands are tied.

SPEAKER_03 2:05

I said that parents are sometimes the issue not allowing workers in the home or becoming combative with truancy officers. The Illinois House has advanced a proposal that would help relocate the Bears to Arlington Heights. State Representative Cam Buckner spoke after the House voted to pass the mega projects bill.

SPEAKER_04 2:22

It's something that we've been looking for for a long time to not just incentivize folks, but to make Illinois competitive. And the best part is that we get to do that while still offering a relief to the people who live in the state.

SPEAKER_03 2:47

Kankakee City Police investigating after a woman said her apartment had been broken into. According to reports, it was just before nine o'clock Tuesday night, officers called to an apartment building in the 400 block of South Dearborn Avenue by a woman who said that she'd gotten out of jail, returned home to find her apartment ransacked. The victim said that her phone and laptop were missing. She said she'd been in jail since Friday night, didn't know if she'd locked the apartment door before she left or not. Riverside Healthcare has donated over$12,000 to local schools. Jake Lamore has the story.

SPEAKER_00 3:18

Rob, according to a press release, the donation is part of the Scores for Schools program presented by Riverside Orthopedic Specialists and benefits 18 local high school athletic programs. Schools can earn$25 for every home varsity football touchdown,$20 for every home varsity girls volleyball match one, and for those schools without a football program,$10 for every home varsity boys' soccer goal. Wilmington High School received the largest donation with a total of$1,330. Bradley Bourbon A Community High School came in second with$1,280. And Bishop McNamara Catholic High School placed third with$1,100. I'm Jake Clamore.

SPEAKER_03 4:03

Kankakee United will close out its series of National Youth Violence Prevention Week events with a sneaker ball on Friday night, starts at 5 o'clock. Tori Lewey has the details.

SPEAKER_05 4:13

Something for the youth to do positive. Just follow it. Uh food. Food. That's handed by Johnny Graham Lee. And that event will be at Beautiful Moments. That address is 450 North Dowler Avenue in Kankakee.

SPEAKER_03 4:33

Louis said kids can come wearing their coolest pair of sneakers. You can get more information on the City of Kankakee's website or its Facebook page. According to reports, it happened just after 10 o'clock yesterday morning when a car hit a utility pole in rural Fowler, Indiana. Reports say the driver was thrown from the car at the time of the crash. He was flown to Carl Foundation Hospital in Champagne, reportedly died of his injuries on the way to the hospital, his name being withheld pending notification of next of kin. A resolution passed at Monday night's Kankakee City Council meeting to begin phase two engineering for the Riverfront Trail Project. Kankakee Mayor Chris Curtis said that phase one engineering was just completed.

SPEAKER_02 5:16

This is the along Fisherman's Park, Kennedy Drive area. This is the Riverfront Trail that'll take you from the pedestrian bridge from uh Riverside to Kennedy, heading south all the way to Station Street. Uh it's all grant funded. Phase one engineering was just completed. We do receive grant funding for phase two engineering, which will start now. So that'll allow us to get out to hopefully construction in 2027. And that was recently the five million dollar grant that we received from the state to do that. So pretty proud of the project that all of it is 100% grant funded and won't be on the taxpayers' dime, at least from a local level.

SPEAKER_03 5:49

About$344,000 of the grant will be used for phase two engineering of the River Front Trail project. Now there are those secret food pantry mobile pop-up events scheduled for today in the Village of Bourbon A. This one runs from 11 this morning till noon at the location on Briarwood Lane. Organizers of the event ask for a$5 donation. Ask you to show up no more than a half an hour before it starts, and you follow the route outlined by Bourbon Apollo. In sports, Cubs beat the Phillies 7-2 yesterday in Chicago. They wrap up that series this afternoon at Wrigley Field. White Sox lost 11-7 to the Diamondbacks in Phoenix. Same two teams there this afternoon. St. Louis Cardinals dropped the rubber match of their game with the Marlins 4-1 in Miami. Cards are off today. They start a weekend series with the Mariners at St. Louis tomorrow. First round of the NFL draft is tonight. Bears currently hold the 25th pick in the draft. NBA playoffs continued Wednesday. The Pistons beat the Magic 98-93 to even that series at a game apiece. Thunder lead their series 2-0 after beating the Suns last night 121-07. There are three games tonight. Hawks host the Knicks. Raptors entertain the Cavaliers. The Nuggets visit the Timberwolves. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Wednesday's winners, Flyers, Ducks, and Stars. Three games tonight. Bruins host the Sabres. Senators take on the Hurricanes. The Kings play the Avalanche. That is a look at News and Sports here on this Thursday. Have a good rest of your day. Be safe, everybody. I'm Rob West.