Wash and be counted: Free laundry exchanged for census

CHICAGO (AP) - The census came with a tumble dry.

Community groups in Chicago offered two loads for free Sunday if customers at a coin laundry filled out census forms.

'œIf we don't fill it out, we lose the millions (of dollars) of funding that is necessary for our communities,'ť said Frances Velez, a volunteer at Mujeres Latinas en Accion - Latina Women in Action - who held a sign with the offer.

Illinois has a 70% census response rate so far, but Chicago is at 60%. The deadline to fill out forms is at the end of the September. There's a big push to get minorities to participate.

Velez assured people that there are no questions about citizenship status, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

'œFilling out the census is as important as any protest,'ť Gov. J.B. Pritzker told a mostly Black congregation at Apostolic Faith Church in Chicago. 'œIt's a demand to be fully heard.'ť

Jose Lara, a truck driver who lives in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, filled out the census and accepted his two free laundry loads.