It’s a full circle for Randall Chaplinski, who was appointed to the Kankakee Regional Land Bank Authority this past week.

Chaplinski, of Bourbonnais, has more than 40 years of experience in banking and real estate, and he was appointed by the Kankakee County Board to replace Matt Olszewski, who resigned Oct. 7 from the six-member board.

“I started out in this building in that corner,” said Chaplinski, referring to the county administration building at 189 E. Court St. “I was in the trust department of City National Bank. … I got a job here in 1980 out of law school. My job was where the recorder’s office is now.”

Fast-forward to 2025, and Chaplinski, 71, still was looking to contribute to the community after retiring from a six-year stint as president of the State Bank of Herscher.

He had attended the past two Land Bank monthly meetings in the conference room on the second floor of the county building.

“My wife said either do that or get a job at McDonald’s,” he laughed. “I’m kidding – and I’m not qualified to do that.”

He previously served as senior vice president and chief trust officer at HomeStar Bank & Financial Services for 14 years. Before that, he spent 17 years as president of Kankakee Title & Trust Co., among other positions, including 45 years as an active attorney at law.

The KLRBA focuses on revitalizing neighborhoods by acquiring mostly problematic properties, which include tax-delinquent or abandoned homes or buildings. It’s something Chaplinski has done in the past.

He was attending his first meeting Tuesday as a Land Bank board member.

“I’ve been doing work like this, knocking on doors and going through and figuring out, ‘What do we fix? What do we do? Do we sell it?’” he said. “It’s different when you’re a governmental entity, but it’s the same property.”

Kankakee County Board Chairman Matthew Alexander-Hildebrand said Chaplinski was recommended for the opening by the Land Bank’s board.

“I took their recommendation because I wanted someone they could work with closely,” Alexander-Hildebrand said. “... I wanted them to be comfortable, and I wanted the Land Bank to move in a positive direction. You can’t deny his application and his willingness to do it was good, too, to help out the community.”

Board member Joe Nugent said Chaplinski will be an asset.

“We’re glad to have Randy here,” Nugent said. “He’s got a half-century of real estate experience.”

Jaffe update

The former Jaffe Drugs property at 218 E. Court St. in Kankakee has been cleared of all pharmaceuticals that were left behind. Most of the junk and debris has been disposed of as well, with the exception of some braces, wheelchairs, walkers and crutches.

The Land Bank will reach out to nonprofit organizations and invite them to collect those items, and it would be a donation by the Land Bank. There would be a waiver attached to those donations.

“The waiver is for them that they are accepting them as is,” said Brian White, interim executive director of KRLBA. “We’re not certifying the quality or the workmanship or the warranty.”

The Land Bank also is close to reaching an agreement with a commercial real estate broker to help market the building for public sale. That agreement and potential listing of the property should be completed in the new year.

Next properties

The Land Bank also unanimously accepted the donation of four of five properties from the city of Kankakee that eventually can be marketed for resale. Three board members and White visited all five properties Tuesday.

The four properties in Kankakee are:

• 762 Webster Circle East
• 360 S. Elm Ave.
• 242 S. Entrance Ave.
• 241 W. Hickory St.

The Land Bank declined to accept the property at 254 W. Merchant St. until the viability of the house can be determined. Those who visited had to use a step ladder to get onto the porch of the house.

“It was really decayed,” White said.