Officials count on census to bring in funding, influence

Mike Wiser
February 18, 2010

ROCKFORD -- The 2010 U.S. Census is as much about taking a demographic snapshot of the country as it is about money and power.

Money because, as Census officials estimate, every 10,000 people counted equals roughly $120 million in federal funding for a municipality over 10 years. The money comes in the form of road projects, economic development grants, education dollars and a multitude of other programs.

Power because the census determines not only how many representatives a state has in the U.S. House of Representatives and how legislative districts are drawn, but information gleaned from it can determine which community gets a new hospital, what town gets a university satellite campus or which city keeps its factory.

For the Rock River Valley, the more people who are counted, the more money and power the county stands to gain.

Winnebago County residents, for example, received $1.8 billion in federal funds, or $6,115 per person, in fiscal year 2008, according to figures released by the city of Rockford's Census Complete Count Committee. That translated into $12.3 million for highway construction, $9 million in Title I education grants, $3.7 million for community health centers, and $2.7 million for low-income energy assistance.

"To a community, this is very important," said state Rep. Jim Sacia, R-Pecatonica. "I think if you look at civic duty and civic responsibility, this is one of the most basic ones there is."

Forms in mail in mid-March

Residents will find 2010 census forms arriving in their mailboxes in mid-March. In the meantime, there will be local bus ads, radio and television spots, fliers, free brochures and even some student-made digital videos posted on Web sites about the importance of filling out and sending back census forms.

"We're going to really start pushing census participation hard over the next couple months, because there's a lot of misperceptions out there about the 2010 census," Jonah Katz, long-range planner in Rockford's Community and Economic Development Department and the city's liaison to the Rockford 2010 Census Complete Count Committee, wrote in an e-mail to the Register Star.

"Census forms should be sent out in mid-March, and if someone doesn't get a form, the Census Bureau is setting up Be Counted Centers across the city for people to visit to get assistance."

Rockfordian Mary Lou Castro is a member of Rockford's committee. A longtime advocate for Hispanic issues, she said outreach into the Hispanic community is vitally important for the 2010 census.

"The statistics I've seen say that we're undercounted, particularly in the Hispanic community, because some people don't understand exactly what it is," Castro said.

On Wednesday, Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen was still smarting over the announcement this week that federal grant money for rail systems had bypassed the area. Asked if a higher census population would have made a difference, Christiansen said it's difficult to tell.

"Chicago we know gets most of the money because of its size," Christiansen said. "Could it have helped? I don't know, but it couldn't have hurt."

The county doesn't have a Census Complete Count Committee but it is "assisting the Census Bureau through (the Winnebago County Geographic Information System) to reflect the accurate municipal boundaries, streets and other requested information," County Administrator Steve Chapman wrote in an e-mail to the Register Star.

Bigger is better

Mark Bonne, spokesman for the Rockford School District, said the district depends on census information for Title I grants and other programs. In the 2009-10 school year, the district expects to receive $58.5 million in federal grant money.

Rockford Area Economic Development Council President Janyce Fadden said her organization uses census information "every day" to advertise the community to companies that may consider settling in the area.

"When site selectors are looking at an area, they are looking for a robust community that has the number of potential employees it needs," Fadden said. "Sometimes they are looking for smaller than we are, but usually it is larger. ... Bigger is better."