Volunteers needed for Aurora's Community Census Day Sept. 26

It is difficult to overstate the importance of the 2020 U.S. Census to the City of Aurora. The constitutionally mandated decennial count is used to shape the U.S. Congressional districts and state legislative districts.

If Aurora is undercounted, the city will not be fairly represented as legislative districts are drawn that do not recognize our full population.

Just as important are the financial implications of the count.

The census will be used to distribute $675 billion each year of federal funds to state and local governments.

Aurora's share of that federal money will be driven by its census participation. The city's share of state money distributed to municipalities is also based upon the census.

These state monies include income tax, motor fuel tax, and other tax revenues. Aurora stands to lose an estimated $3.5 million of state distributions over 10 years for every 1% of its population that is undercounted.

Recognizing the importance of the census, Mayor Richard Irvin and the Aurora City Council established the Aurora Complete Count Committee in June 2019. Its purpose is to achieve the fullest possible count of Aurora residents in the 2020 U.S. Census and coordinate community resources to support the effort.

The committee is comprised of representatives from more than 40 community organizations. Coming from a broad range of organizations, the committee members bring a deep understanding of the community to the task of counting every Auroran.

To best structure its efforts, the committee organized itself into five teams: communications and technology, community organizations (such as social service agencies), business organizations, faith-based organizations, and educational institutions. The Communications & Technology Team developed informational pieces and supported media delivery for the other teams. The other teams were organized to coordinate messages that are most likely to resonate among the organizations within their respective spheres.

Through mid-March, the committee used a wide variety of methods to promote participation in the 2020 census. Single-purpose census events, presentations at community meetings, informational tables at community events, distribution of printed materials, and social media blasts were among the vehicles that the committee employed to raise awareness of the census. The city and the committee have deployed more than $150,000 in grants to support the outreach work.

In November 2019, the City of Aurora held a major event at the Paramount Theater to officially kick off the community's census campaign. Hundreds of attendees - including numerous community, business, and governmental leaders - contributed to the high energy at the event.

From mid-March through June, as Illinois sought to contain COVID-19, the committee's outreach efforts leveraged primarily print and social media. During March and April, the City of Aurora included census promotional information in its water bill mailings. The city produced 35,000 inserts for Aurora businesses to include in employee paycheck envelopes. Committee members are also using these inserts as fliers in support of other outreach efforts, such as reading programs at the Aurora Public Library. Additionally, in certain hard-to-count areas of the community, billboards have been used to get the word out.

As the economy opens, the committee will resume in-person promotional efforts. The committee will again provide staffing for census informational tables at community events. Informational tables were set up at the weekly Aurora Farmers Market this summer. Neighborhood outreach also was intense. On July 15, Aurora, Elgin, and Kane County co-sponsored "From Aurora to Elgin - Making Sure that Everyone in Kane County Counts." Two vehicle caravans - one departing from Aurora and another from Elgin - traveled to the Fox Valley Ice Arena in Geneva for a rally. The vehicle caravans and rally were spirited and visible efforts to inspire all Kane County residents to be counted.

Aurora residents can participate in the census online at www.census.gov, by phone at (844) 330-2020, or by completing and returning the questionnaire that the United States Census Bureau mailed to the Aurora households that have not previously responded.

The Census Bureau recently shortened the "self-response" deadline to Sept. 30. A census worker may visit a residence to conduct the count if the Census Bureau has not received a self-response from the household as part of the bureau's follow-up process. A physical visit is inconvenient for the resident and the Census Bureau. It is easiest if every Aurora resident participates in the census by responding as soon as possible. The census involves answering only a few simple questions. Federal law requires that census information be used only for statistical purposes. Individual answers must be kept confidential.

Millions of dollars are at stake and time is winding down to complete the 2020 Census. Last month, more than 60 volunteers fanned out in the most undercounted neighborhoods in Aurora to remind residents about the census. These volunteers helped raise Aurora's self-response rate. According to a Sept. 6 post, it was 73.1%. a full 1.1% higher than the response rate in 2010. In some of the undercounted neighborhoods, there were the same measurable increases.

If just two hours of work with 60 volunteers can empower hundreds of fellow Aurorans to complete the census, what can we do with even more volunteers?

Find out by registering to volunteers for the next Community Census Day on Saturday, Sept. 26, from 10 a.m. to noon. Join others in the community to knock on doors in the hard-to-count neighborhoods and increase Aurora's self-response rate. Register today at www.aurora-il.org/Service.

Aurora Census Counts

What: Community Census Day

When: Saturday, Sept. 26, from 10 a.m. to noon

Details: Join volunteers in the community to knock on doors in the hard-to-count neighborhoods and help increase Aurora's self-response rate for the 2020 Census.

Sign up: <a href="http://www.aurora-il.org/Service">www.aurora-il.org/Service</a>.