Half of suburban residents still uncounted in census

The U.S. Census forms arrived in the mail two weeks ago, and as of today, only about half of all suburban residents have filled them out.

A snapshot of census participation rates - on today, Census Day - shows that, overall, suburban residents have filled out the form at a higher rate than most Americans.

Nationally, the census participation rate is 52 percent. Locally, villages like Huntley, Geneva and Sugar Grove are seeing participation rates of 65 percent or higher.

"Our community's engaged and understands the importance of completing the form," said Huntley Village Manager Dave Johnson. "It's nothing the village has done. Our residents get all the credit."

Other suburbs rank below the national average, including North Chicago, Bensenville, Glendale Heights, Oakbrook Terrace and Aurora, where participation rates are between 40 and 50 percent.

Officials in these towns say it's a challenge to convince people of the benefits of being counted, and they've waged aggressive campaigns to get more people to fill out the form.

In North Chicago Wednesday night, the village hosted a rally to welcome the National 2010 Census Bus, featuring a barbecue, T-shirt giveaways, and an informational kiosk.

In Bensenville, a census committee launched a massive educational campaign which included putting up posters around town and meeting with apartment complex residents, who often have lower participation.

U.S. Census Bureau spokeswoman Shelly Lowe said low participation rates can be attributed to a variety of factors, including language barriers, undocumented immigrants who fear being identified, and renters or others who believe their residency is only temporary.

"We, in Bensenville, have a huge population in terms of apartment buildings. So we've said to them, 'Just because you think you're going to be moving in a year doesn't mean you don't need to be counted in Bensenville,'" said Village Clerk JoEllen Ridder, one of the census committee members.

Ridder believes many people throw out the form because they misunderstand its purpose.

"The accurate count is what's most important, it's not your specific information," she said. "You have to get people to understand how it's going to help them. That there'll be a benefit to them. That not only will we get state money, but we'll get federal money."

Census data is used to determine seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and to distribute more than $400 billion in federal funds each year.

This week, some suburban residents - including those in Oakbrook Terrace, Volo and Bensenville - will be among the 25 million Americans who will receive a second census form in the mail. These targeted mailings are for communities where the 2000 census participation rates were below 59 percent. The national average in 2000 was 72 percent.

"Our research shows this will help," Lowe said. "A lot of people are simply forgetting about it."

Anyone who already filled out the form should discard their second form. There is a system in place to prevent double counting, Lowe added.

Starting in May, anyone who has not completed the census will be visited by a census worker, at a cost to the government.

While acknowledging that a 100 percent census response rate is not realistic - and that there are some staunch census-dodgers out there - the U.S. Census Bureau does have a goal.

"We'd like to beat 2000 (census results), which had a 72 percent participation rate," Lowe said. "We're challenging everybody to do that."

A participation rate map containing updated state, county, city and neighborhood information is at

http://2010.census.gov/2010census/take10map/