Please do not use KKK as a abbreviation for Kankakee. Please use K3 I know that after pouring over microfilm copies of the news papers for hours and hours and seeing KKK in great bold letters in headline after headline it is possible to get used to seeing KKK as an abbreviation for Kankakee. Unfortunately, the three K's are much more well known as a organization which propagates hate. Please do not use the three K's as an abbreviation for Kankakee. It is horrible and ugly to associate such a thing with this place. It would be nice if KKK as an organization was ancient history here and racism was a thing of the past, but unfortunately, I have been witness of a few acts of such low character - ranging from casual remarks to a truly ugly nasty little impromptu speech by someone who actually believed what he was saying. As I am not often about in Kankakee, I do not know if the Klan exists, or even how much racism there is here, but there are definitely enough ugly thoughts that the use of KKK really should not be used casually. I suppose that the organization may provide invaluable clues for some in locating their family so I will not be banning the Klan as a topic for genealogical research, but let us all treat this as the sensitive issue it is. Anyone who has been in genealogy for any length of time knows that we all have our black sheep. For instance, when St. Patrick's day arrives on Friday, I will be wearing Green, not Orange, but back a ways in my family, it would have been Orange. Hate is horrible and ugly, but there is a lot of it in human history and many of us are going to find it in our family history. It is not something to be proud of, but it exists. We should recognize it, learn from our mistakes, and move on. Lee Ann Hollenbeck ILFORD list moderator.