OK, folks - professional wildlife biologist is going to flash her credentials and chime in here.
1. Any mammal can carry rabies. There have been rabid rabbits and even a case of a rabid guinea pig. Some of the more common rabies cases each year? LIVESTOCK as in hoofed animals such as cows. One should exercise caution with any unfamiliar animal whether domestic or wild. But don't over react. Just use common sense.
2. Raccoons and other animals carry disease and can have all kinds of parasites living in and on them. That includes chickens and people. GASP If you crawl around in the dirt and put it in your mouth or eat feces be prepared for the consequences. Of course that also applies to touching light switches or using computer keyboards. And let's not forget school aged children - yikes, talk about germs! When it comes to animals and disease just use some common sense. Hmmm, I'm sensing a theme here.
3. Eradication of raccoons, and most wild animals, is a scientifically documented exercise in futility unless you are willing to keep at it every year, or succeed in exterminating the entire regional breeding population, or wipe out the entire species. But it's an awesome money making enterprise for wildlife control services!
What happens when you go on a campaign to trap out the local raccoon population? All remaining raccoons will increase their litter size. And raccoons begin shifting territories or expanding home ranges. They squabble. New raccoons move in from outlying areas. The population will persist in a state of upheaval. This is BAD. You end up with a change in age structure, more younger prime breeding age raccoons, more young raccoons prone to fighting and squabbling, new raccoons from other areas possibly introducing disease into a previously healthy population. This will continue until the population stabilizes. The same population dynamics apply to coyotes, foxes, etc.
There have been a lot of sound scientifically peer reviewed and published long term studies on raccoon removal because it is practiced to control nest predation on sea turtles. In that case there is good cause for what is being done. But if your goal is to manage predators on and near your property this is not a lasting solution and is likely to make things worse in the long run. It becomes a case of which is better, the "enemy" you know or the one you haven't met yet? Think things ALL the way through and use common sense.
4. Raccoons are cute, affectionate, and fun, but as they age do not make good pets. And yes, it's fun to feed wild raccoons. But you really shouldn't feed them because you compromise their survival skills, may induce breeding, can potentially expose THEM to disease, and make them more vulnerable to predators, particularly human predators. However, there have been people feeding and befriending raccoons for as long as there have been people in North America. If your neighbor down the way is going to blow the brains out of that friendly raccoon you have been feeding the first chance he gets then reconsider whether you are doing the right thing. AGAIN, USE COMMON SENSE
) BUT she feeds raccons in her backyard. My Uncle built an actual feeding station along side their shop, which is directly connected to their back patio. She puts out 5# of cat food for the coons each night. Ok, that said, my little cousins spend a good amount of time hanging around at Grammy & Grampy's - playing out back. Back to the coons. Cat food in...cat food out. Raccoon feces. 
