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Residents press council on boarded homes, youth services; mayor cites kratom testing and forthcoming state action
Summary
Public commenters urged the council to address boarded homes, representational gaps in committees and a lack of youth substance-abuse programs; Mayor and staff discussed synthetic-drug concerns (kratom, delta-8) and said state regulation may follow after testing showed high potency in local purchases.
Several residents used the public-comment period at the April 7 Kankakee City Council meeting to press the mayor and aldermen on boarded properties, neighborhood representation in community committees, and a lack of youth substance-abuse services.
Apostle Jones (community member) congratulated the mayor on reelection and said his group ‘‘will be here every meeting’’ to monitor the city budget and decisionmaking. Jones said Kankakee has many boarded homes and asked that the council prioritize addressing vacancies and blight; he also urged more community representation on committees and more juvenile substance-abuse and recovery programming, saying there are few places for youth to go and expressing concern about increased marijuana-derived products and edibles.
Another resident, identified by address as living at 355 South Greenwood, requested action on a house boarded up across the street from her home for about 30 years and said animals are entering the structure.
Separately, Mayor Curtis addressed community emails and questions about a proposed synthetic-drug prohibition. The mayor said the city’s concern is public safety and that some products sold locally (including kratom products and delta-8 formulations) have tested at levels ‘‘4 times the amount of what is being recommended by FDA’’ in lab tests the city reviewed. He said Indiana and Wisconsin have statewide bans and that state lawmakers in Illinois were considering action; the mayor said the city does not regulate these substances directly and that state regulation is likely to be pursued in the spring or fall legislative session. He invited constituents to share testing or other data if they disagree with the city’s findings.
No formal ordinance was passed at the April 7 meeting on this subject; the ordinance committee earlier discussed a synthetic-drug prohibition draft and had recommended forwarding a draft to full council. The mayor said communities may follow suit and that Kankakee’s action aimed at public-protection concerns rather than targeting legitimate businesses.
