Last But Not Least - This American Life

Tim Keown, a high school student grew up thinking his town of Kankakee, Ill. was fantastic. But like most town, there's something about its past that Tim was unaware of.

He discovered that his town of 30,000 was ranked dead last in a list of worst places to live. This was published in The Places Rated Almanac, and was based on crime, job outlook, climate, culture, etc. It wasn't long before the town became the laughingstock of the country.

David Letterman published a top ten list about slogans for the town. One of them was "You'll come for our payphone, you'll stay because your car has been stolen." In an effort to improve the town's image, Letterman sent the Kankakee two gazebos to beautify the downtown.

The town has put up the gazebos, put citizens don't like to go there. It reminds them of how much their town was made fun of. Tim and other students were shocked to learn of this. They always thought their town was fine.

Students then recalled stories of how the perception people had of Kankakee affected them. One girl got teased on her academic exchange program for being from the town. Another girl was shopping for a prom dress and a clerk was reluctant to help them once it was clear what town they were from.

These students decided enough was enough. Since Letterman is retiring, they cut down one of the gazebos and turned it into a rocking chair as a retirement gift for the late night host.

One gazebo down, one to go.