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Mayor Lightfoot Announces New Initiatives to Encourage Citywide Participation in the 2020 Census<\/strong> CHICAGO \u2013 Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot today announced two new initiatives to encourage Chicagoans to take the 2020 Census including a neighbor-to-neighbor texting program and a mobile Census\u00a0center.<\/p>\n \u201cNow more than ever it is critical for Chicago\u2019s residents to fill out their Census forms and make themselves count,\u201d said Mayor Lightfoot. \u201cThese two new initiatives will help us in that effort, and I\u00a0am tremendously grateful to the individuals behind Chicago Cares for their support. Aside from ensuring fair representation in federal policymaking, the Census will also play a major role in\u00a0determining the Federal dollars we receive to help us recover from the COVID-19 crisis, supporting everything from our infrastructure and essential services, to our entire economy for years to\u00a0come.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n When the COVID-19 pandemic rendered in-person canvassing and group events unsafe, the City created a neighbor-to-neighbor initiative with Chicago Cares, a nonprofit committed to mobilizing\u00a0volunteers in Chicago. The neighbor-to-neighbor initiative is a volunteer effort enabling Chicagoans to text other Chicagoans and encourage census participation. More details and information on\u00a0volunteer opportunities can be found at\u00a0chicagocares.org\/census.<\/p>\n \u201cChicago Cares has been thrilled to partner with the City of Chicago to mobilize volunteers to spread the word about the Census,\u201d Jenn\u00e9 Myers, CEO of Chicago Cares said. \u201cSo far, our volunteers\u00a0have sent over 170,000 text messages reminding Chicagoans to complete the once-in-a-decade count. It\u2019s a safe, easy, and fun way for Chicagoans to volunteer right now and make a huge impact\u00a0on the city we love.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition, the City has dispatched a mobile Census center that travels to food banks, mask distribution sites, and other events to provide residents with Wi-Fi for completing the Census. It is a\u00a0neon green van marked with, \u201cMake Yourself Count: Take a Second for Your City,\u201d which is visiting locations throughout Chicago reminding residents to respond.<\/p>\n So far, 53% of Chicagoans have responded to the 2020 Census, which is in-line or above other cities with large, hard-to-count populations, but below the national average of 60%. In the last\u00a0Census, 66% of Chicagoan\u2019s responded, and Mayor Lightfoot set a goal for the Chicago of at least 75% participation in this year\u2019s Census, which the City is committed to achieving.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the decisions we are making right now to help recover from the public health and economic challenges of the pandemic demonstrate the importance of the Census,\u201d said Andrea Zopp,\u00a0President & CEO, World Business Chicago. \u201cThe pandemic has ripped the cover off a lot of inequality in our city. Completing the Census ensures that Chicago will receive funding for essential\u00a0services that benefit everyone in the future.\u201d \u201cAlthough times are difficult, we still ask everyone to do their part. This funding is crucial to Chicago,\u201d Ric Estrada, CEO, Metropolitan Family Services said. \u201cWe will continue to work with our\u00a0partners to get all Chicago residents counted.\u201d<\/p>\n Nearly half of Chicago\u2019s 2.7 million residents are considered \u201chard-to-count\u201d by the U.S. Census Bureau. This includes families of color, children under five, the elderly, veterans, returning residents,\u00a0individuals with high rates of mobility and housing instability, residents with disabilities, those with limited access to the Internet, and those who may be afraid to participate. Earlier this year, the City\u00a0provided more than $700,000 in grant funding for community-based organizations to support the City\u2019s efforts in educating and engaging residents about the 2020 Census. Additional information on\u00a0the program is located\u00a0here. Illinois Census Month begins Monday, June 1, and the City of Chicago continues working with its partners on new initiatives to increase engagement and activate Chicago to complete the Census.\u00a0To learn more about the City\u2019s 2020 Census efforts, please visit\u00a0census2020.chicago.gov<\/a>\u00a0to find up-to-date information and City resources aiding to ensure a full count.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Mayor Lightfoot Announces New Initiatives to Encourage Citywide Participation in the 2020 Census Census participation is vital for bringing essential federal funding to Chicago CHICAGO \u2013 Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot today announced two new initiatives to encourage Chicagoans to take the 2020 Census including a neighbor-to-neighbor texting program and a mobile Census\u00a0center. \u201cNow more than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17527,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsite.rnrachicago.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsite.rnrachicago.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsite.rnrachicago.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsite.rnrachicago.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsite.rnrachicago.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsite.rnrachicago.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsite.rnrachicago.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsite.rnrachicago.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsite.rnrachicago.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsite.rnrachicago.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nCensus participation is vital for bringing essential federal funding to Chicago<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nCensus figures set the level of funding Chicago will receive for public health, parks, public safety, transportation and essential infrastructure, as well as other City services. Funding for many\u00a0programs benefitting Chicagoans is allocated based on the Census, including Medicaid, Head Start, SNAP, Section 8, Title I and Special Education Grants. The City of Chicago stands to lose an\u00a0estimated $1,400 each year for every resident missed in 2020, with other adverse implications in redistricting.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cWe know that many Chicagoans, especially in our immigrant communities are fearful that completing the Census will report their or their families\u2019 citizenship status,\u201d said Rebecca Shi, Executive\u00a0Director, Illinois Business Immigration Coalition. \u201cNothing could be further from the truth. There is no question about citizenship, and personal information collected in the Census cannot be shared\u00a0with anyone or any other federal agency, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or Immigration or Customs Enforcement (ICE). Data is only released in summary tables; no individual\u00a0information is released.\u201d<\/p>\n