Kankakee County, Illinois Eviction Risk: Moderate

Kankakee County scores 4.5/10 (Moderate) across its 22 cities, placing it 12th of 102 Illinois eviction laws counties by eviction risk. That ranking puts it in the higher-risk third of the state: only 11 counties carry more risk, while 90 are comparatively more landlord-friendly. For investors sizing up this market, a Moderate designation does not mean low stakes. Average rent sits at $1,116, and a rent burden of 28.2% means a meaningful share of tenants are already stretched, which raises the probability that a cash-flow disruption translates into a payment dispute.

The county-wide average, however, masks real variation across its cities. Scores range from a low of 4.4 to a high of 5.2, an intra-county spread that matters when picking individual assets. Landlords operating in Illinois need to understand where within Kankakee County a property sits before drawing conclusions about portfolio risk.

The cities inside Kankakee County

The highest-risk tier tops out at 4.5/10, shared by the county seat of Kankakee (population 23,996), along with Sun River Terrace and Hopkins Park. Kankakee is by far the county's largest city, so a disproportionate share of the rental inventory sits in this upper-risk band. Bourbonnais (population 18,078) and Bradley (population 15,325) both score 4/10, meaning the three largest population centers all land at or near the county high. Momence, Grant Park, and Manteno round out the mid-range at scores of 5.1 and 5.0.

At the other end, Limestone carries the county's lowest score at 3.8/10, a full 0.7 points below the county peak. That spread is operationally significant: investors who can source deals in lower-scoring areas of the county gain a meaningful edge compared to concentrating in the city of Kankakee. Risk here is hyper-local, and a mile or two of distance can shift the calculus considerably.

State-level laws that apply here

All landlords in Kankakee County operate under the Illinois Forcible Entry and Detainer Act, 735 ILCS 5/9. For nonpayment of rent, Illinois law requires a 5-day notice before filing; a material lease violation triggers a 10-day notice; and a month-to-month holdover requires 30 days. An uncontested eviction typically resolves in 30 to 60 days; contested cases can run 60 to 150 days. Filing fees range from $200 to $400, sheriff lockout fees add $60 to $200, and attorney fees commonly run $750 to $3,500, so even a straightforward case carries real cost. Understanding the full Illinois eviction process before a dispute arises is essential for anyone holding rental property here.

On the regulatory side, Illinois state law preempts local rent control, meaning no city within Kankakee County can impose its own rent cap. Just cause is not required to terminate a tenancy at the end of a fixed-term lease. Source-of-income discrimination is protected under Illinois law, administered by the Illinois Department of Human Rights. Landlords should review Illinois security deposit limits and Illinois tenant protections carefully, as these carry their own statutory requirements that apply county-wide regardless of which city a property sits in.

With a poverty rate of 14.2% and 34.6% of households renting, the tenant pool across Kankakee County spans a wide range of financial stability; review the individual city scores in the grid above to identify where that risk concentrates most.