By Angela Clay Thomas
The start of this year is the beginning of a new decade which means it’s a census year. Article 1 Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution calls for a census, or count, of every man, woman, and child living in the United States every 10 years. Everyone, infants, those incarcerated, the homeless; no matter how you got here or how long you’ve been here, everyone must be included in this nationwide effort.
Just as with the first count, conducted in 1790, the census is still used to determine the number of seats each state receives in the U.S. House of Representatives. The census is used to provide states and local governments with their fair share of federal dollars, which is about $675 Million for the 2020 Census. Information on the population, such as age, ethnicity, gender, family size is used to: Build new schools, hospitals, and roads; plan for public safety and emergency preparedness; construct new homes; revitalize old neighborhoods; and expand business that brings jobs to communities.
Completing the census is the law. It’s easy to do. There are nine questions that take about 10 minutes to answer and you can respond online, by phone, or by mail. If you fail to complete the census on your own, expect to be visited by census-takers. Should you ignore the knocks at the door and not participate in the census, there may be an undercount of the population. Not counting everyone means both less money and resources for our communities. Undercounting Aurora’s population by just 1% would result in the loss of approximately $3.5 Million over the course of 10 years. Is that money we can really do without?
A final point about the Census, which may be the biggest obstacle to participating, relates to whether and how information is shared. The U.S. Census Bureau cannot release personal identifying information, such as your name, to anyone, including law enforcement agencies. Those who work for the Census Bureau take a lifetime oath to protect your information. Any violation comes with a $250,000 fine and up to five years in prison. Information collected through the Census only can be used to produce statistics. And the citizenship question? After all the back and forth between Congress and the Trump administration, the U.S. Supreme Court decided, there is no question about citizenship included in the 2020 Census.
Perhaps you’re already on board with the Census and want to do more. Start by spreading the word with family and friends to encourage their self-response. You might consider a temporary job with the Census Bureau to help educate the community and help hard-to-count individuals complete the Census questionnaire. There are a variety of temporary jobs to apply for, including census-takers, $21.50 in Kane County, recruiting assistants, and office/supervisory staff personnel. Many positions are flexible and may be close to home.
Census Day is fast approaching, April 1 2020! Between now and then let’s follow through on our civic duty, participate in the Census and do our part to ensure everyone in our community is counted once, only once, and in the right place. For more information visit 2020census.gov.
—Angela Clay Thomas, Kane County Board, District 4, City of Aurora Complete Count Committee, vice chair