KANKAKEE, Ill. — Members of KankakeeCitys Building & Code Safety Committee on Nov. 20 discussed persistent neighborhood complaints about trash and recycling cans left in streets and utility easements after collection, and identified procedural hurdles that limit enforcement.

The committee spent the bulk of the meeting examining how the citys enforcement timeline and notice process interact. Director Nelson explained that the city must mail a notice and give a three-day correction period plus mailing time before a citation is issued, and that the ordinance currently allows cans to be out 24 hours before and 24 hours after scheduled pickup. "If we send a notice, we have to give them the three days plus the mailing time," Director Nelson said. "By the time I recheck, it's within that time frame, and the ordinance is 24 hours before, 24 hours after." (Director Nelson is the department official identified in the meeting record.)

That combination, members said, creates frequent situations where an inspector sees a violation, mails a notice, and by the time staff rechecks the property the cans are back in, leaving no enforceable violation on the record. One committee member summarized the problem as "a game of cat and mouse" between inspectors and habitual noncompliant residents.

Aldermen proposed several possible changes: shortening the allowable period when cans may be at the curb, limiting placement to the pickup day only, and creating an automatic escalation for repeat notices that would trigger fines or other penalties after the second or third infraction. A member suggested a tiered approach with initial warnings followed by progressively stronger consequences for habitual offenders.

Members also discussed operational fixes: targeting habitual violators with a different process, improving data or case-tracking so notices and rechecks align with pickup days, and exploring ordinance language that would prohibit cans from remaining on street easements or sidewalks irrespective of pickup timing.

The committee agreed to place the issue on the next meeting agenda so the ordinance committee can consider proposed language changes and options for notification timing and enforcement procedures. No ordinance changes were adopted at this meeting.

What happens next: the item was scheduled for future committee consideration; staff were directed to put trash-can enforcement timing and notification procedures on the next agenda so the ordinance committee can draft possible revisions.

Sources and scope: the discussion drew from the departments director's explanation of procedural timelines and multiple aldermen recounting recurring constituent complaints. No new fines or ordinance language were adopted during the Nov. 20 meeting.