Fill Out The Census Now:

The census is only running until Sept 30 this year and much of the door to door counting which has occurred in the past has been limited by COVID. If you have not completed the census yet please do so.

The census is important because it is how communities get federal money. In short, the more people in your community the more funds your community gets for things such as infrastructure or schools. As we continue to sit in the midst of COVID we are all even more aware of the importance of federal money can be. 

The census is maybe even more important because it is how congressional representatives are broken down. Depending on if your community had gained or lost individuals will determine how many U.S house members you get. I think the vast majority of us can see the importance of representation in the current political situation.

The census is so important my city of Chicago has a Census Cowboy to help remind everyone to fill out the census, and we have had city-wide competitions (with prizes of ice cream for the local kids) between neighborhoods to see which can show the greatest improvement in response rates. While the Census Cowboy has been thrown a bit of shade he still is highlighting something important.

So how is your neighborhood doing? 

Check out: Census Hard To Count Maps to drill down and see the current response rate neighborhood by neighborhood.

Do you still need to complete the census?

Go to 2020census.gov 

The questions the census asks include:

1. How many people were living or staying in this house, apartment, or mobile home on April 1, 2020?
2. Were there any additional people staying here on April 1, 2020, that you did not include in Question 1?
3. Is this house, apartment, or mobile home ...
4. What is your telephone number?
5. What is Person 1's name?
6. What is Person 1's sex?
7. What is Person 1's age and what is Person 1's date of birth?
8. Is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin?
9. What is Person 1's race?
10. Print name of Person 2...
11. Does this person usually live or stay somewhere else?
12. How is this person related to Person 1?

None of these questions is extremely personal or hard to answer.

Do you know others who have not completed their census?

Direct them to 2020census.gov. If the person struggles with technology or does not have internet access see how you can connect them with official census takers who can help fill out the form.