With the 2020 U.S. Census coming to Illinois in the next few months Naperville’s League of Women Voters held an informational meeting on what to expect.
How The Census Works
The census does two primary things: it determines how many seats in congress each state has as well as how funding is distributed in each state.
“Based on population our 435 representatives are distributed equally across populations,” said Caryl Reily, a senior partnership specialist with the U.S. Census.
What Does That Mean For Illinois?
Riley went on to say if a state’s population decreases it may lose a seat, and vice versa. Illinois currently has 18 seats, and experts are predicting it may lose two seats in the 2020 census.
“That impacts our electoral college voting power a lot of people don’t know that number you see on the map you see on election night for presidential elections is a formula on how many people you have at the house of representatives,” said Georgia Logothetis, the assistant director at Common Cause.
Since 1970 Illinois has lost seats in congress in every census after.
New to the 2020 census you can now fill out a registration over the phone, or online.
Naperville, who had a special census in 2018 to account for its growth since 2010, has created the Complete Count Committee whose goal is for Naperville to have 150,000 people.
“It’s approximately $175 per person, per year that comes from the state to the city of Naperville,” said Mark Rice, chair of CCC.
Rice said from at the federal level each person represents $1,700 of funding.
The official start day of the U.S. Census is April first, but you can start online in late March.
The City of Naperville has teamed up with local community hubs like the Naperville Public Library and DuPage Pads for those who don’t have Internet access can have a place to be counted until August when registration for the 2020 census ends.
Naperville News 17’s Christian Canizal reports.
If you have a story idea or news tip you want to share, we want to hear from you!
