Everything worth leaving the house for this month, plus puzzles, good news, and the links people text their neighbors for. No pressure to buy or sell anything.
Orange days have something going on — tap one to jump straight to it.
The Month, Day by Day
Kankakee CountyEvery listing links straight to the organizer. For the full weekly-updated list, see my Community Events Calendar.
Ooky Spooky Light Show
FamilyLooking Ahead
NovemberWorth putting on the fridge now.
- Nov 6 — Undiscovered Worlds Strickler Planetarium
- Nov 7 — Artisan Faire Kankakee County Museum
- Nov 7 — The Stellars Strickler Planetarium
- Nov 14 — Howl at the Moon Dueling Pianos Majestic Weddings & Events
- Nov 20 — The Christmas Star Strickler Planetarium
- Nov 21 — KVTA Diary of a Wimpy Kid Lincoln Cultural Center
Good News, Actually
Three thingsReal headlines from the past few weeks that nobody put on the front page. Read them, feel slightly better, send one to someone who needs it.
A cat named Toast survived a four-alarm fire by hiding in a closet
Firefighters found her hours later, unharmed, in the one spot in the house that stayed cool. The name was chosen before the fire, which somehow makes it better.
Good News Network →A Colorado couple has given away 12,000 free trees from their backyard
Since 2007, Elizabeth Black and Chris Brown have grown seedlings and handed them to anyone who asks. No nonprofit, no funding — just a very committed backyard.
The Colorado Sun →A duck became an emotional support animal — for a golden retriever
The dog was struggling after losing a companion. The duck moved in. Against everyone’s expectations, including the duck’s, it worked.
Good News Network →Got good news of your own?
New baby, new job, kid made the team, dog finally learned to sit? Send it over and I’ll run it here — this section works best when half of it comes from people we actually know.
The 60-Second Quiz
InteractiveWhat does your ideal Saturday say about you? Six questions, no wrong answers.
Take this quiz online at askdawnolson.net/front-porch
Five Questions
Trivia0 / 5General knowledge, lightly seasoned. One of them is about Kankakee.
Play the trivia round online at askdawnolson.net/front-porch
Puzzle Corner
One gameTen Kankakee County towns are hiding in the grid. Drag to circle them — any direction counts.
Word Search: Around the 815
Ten Kankakee County place names. Click and drag — any direction, including backwards and diagonal.
🎉 All ten found. You have officially earned the porch swing.
The Little Black Book
Bookmark thisThe Kankakee County links people text their neighbors for. Keep this page — that’s the whole idea.
Own your home? Check your tax exemptions.
Illinois homeowners can claim exemptions that come straight off your property tax bill — but nobody applies them for you. Applications are handled by the County Assessor’s Office, 815-937-2945.
Homeowner Tax Exemption Applications →Property, taxes & permits
Schools & libraries
Parks, fun & things to do
Help & human services
Who do you call when something breaks?
I’m building a vetted list of local plumbers, electricians, HVAC techs, painters and handymen — only people neighbors have actually used and would call again. Send me your best one and I’ll add it here next month.
Recipe of the Month
Takes 10 minutesYou’re about to have more tomatoes than you know what to do with. Here.
Marinated Tomatoes with Torn Bread
Serves 4 as a side, 2 as dinner standing over the counter.
You need
- 2 lb ripe tomatoes, any shape (the farmers market ones)
- ½ small red onion, sliced paper-thin
- 3 Tbsp olive oil + 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- A fat pinch of flaky salt
- Half a loaf of day-old crusty bread
- Basil, torn, as much as you can stand
You do
- Cut tomatoes into big irregular chunks. Salt them and walk away for 15 minutes.
- Add onion, oil and vinegar to the bowl. Do not drain the tomato juice — that juice is the point.
- Tear the bread into craggy pieces and toast in a dry skillet until the edges go gold.
- Fold the bread through right before eating. Basil on top. Eat within the hour.
If the bread goes in early it turns to pudding. Ask me how I know.
Neighborhood Spotlight
RiverviewOne street, one story, every issue.
The neighborhood that throws a concert under its own oak trees
Six Sunday afternoons a year, the Riverview Historic District and the Kankakee Valley Symphony put music under the oaks at Cobb Park. It’s free. People bring a chair, a drink, and an ice cream, and for two hours a public park turns into somebody’s very large living room.
That’s what I mean when I say a neighborhood has something. It isn’t the square footage. Know a street with a story like this? Send it over — I’ll feature it next month and you’ll get the credit.
Win Something
Two waysBoth take under a minute. One of them is just sending this page to a friend.
📸 The Porch Shot Contest
Send me a photo of your favorite spot at home — porch, kitchen window, the chair the dog has claimed. Reader favorite wins a $100 gift card to a Kankakee County restaurant of your choice and gets featured next month.
- Snap a photo. Phone is perfect, no styling required.
- Email it with your first name and your town.
- Vote on the finalists in next month’s issue.
No purchase necessary. Open to Kankakee County residents 18 and over. Entries close October 31, 2026. Finalists are chosen by Dawn; readers vote in the November issue. Winner notified by email and announced in the next issue.
☕ The Share-a-Page Drawing
Every month I draw one name for a $25 coffee card at a local shop. You get an entry for each friend who subscribes because of you — no limit, no catch, and I never cold-call anyone. Ever.
No purchase necessary. One entry per friend who subscribes and names you. Drawn at random on the last day of each month; winner notified by email.
The Market Minute
Two numbersThe only real estate part of this page. Two numbers from the Kankakee County market, updated every month.
Five days. That is how long the average Kankakee County home sat before it was under contract — which is why the right price on day one matters more than it has in years.
Curious what your specific house would sell for today? Send me the address and I’ll come back with a real number, not an automated estimate — no obligation.
Know someone who’d like this?
This page runs on people forwarding it. That’s the entire marketing plan.
Dawn Olson · REALTOR®
McColly Real Estate · Bourbonnais, Illinois
Serving Kankakee County & Chicago’s south suburbs
815-735-9594 · dawn.olson.realtor@gmail.com
Event details come from Visit Kankakee County and the Kankakee County Chamber of Commerce. Always confirm times and prices with the organizer before you go.
Your property tax assessment, explained
The county published this year’s assessed values in the Daily Journal on September 9. I broke the whole thing down in plain English — what your assessed value actually means, the equalization factor for your township, the exemptions most people miss, and how to appeal if the number looks wrong.
Both the 2026 and 2025 published notices are there to download and compare.
Read the Property Tax GuideAfter that date the Board of Review cannot accept assessment complaints for this year.