Currently, 70.6% of Illinois households have completed their census form – either by mail, online or by phone. An additional 26.2% have been completed by enumerators or through administrative records for a total of 96.8% overall completion. However, local completion rates are lower, especially surrounding the NIU campus. Lower completion rates are problematic because things like government funding and congressional representation reflect census data. Lower rates of completion mean less money and perhaps less congressional representation.
The pandemic and other factors have complicated collecting data, especially locally among students. To help compensate, students that lived on campus or would have if it were not for the pandemic, will be counted by their college or university. Those individuals do not need to do anything further and should not be included on anyone else’s Census.
Students who lived off campus need to fill out the Census form for the address they would have been living at, including any roommates, as of April 1, if the pandemic did not occur. The Census is by household, not by individual, so all roommates are to be counted together as a household and only one roommate needs to complete the form for everyone living at that address.
Anyone living in a temporary residence due to the pandemic should fill out the Census based on where they lived on April 1. Landlords are being asked to spread the word to tenants who resided in their apartments on April 1. Individuals who filled out the census and moved after April 1, need not fill it out again. If you have filled out multiple responses the duplicates will be removed as only one response is accepted from each household.
Census enumerators may visit some households to quality check the data received, so some households may receive multiple visits. If you have not responded, enumerators may visit your home up to six times to get the information submitted. If there is still not a response, neighbors may be contacted and administrative records will be pulled to fill in the information, such as tax records.
If you have not done so already, there is still time to complete your census form:
- Online at https://www.2020census.gov/ . If you do not have an ID to respond, you can click on the link below the box for the ID that says, “If you do not have a Census ID, click here.” and follow the instructions to verify your address so you can respond.
- By phone at 1-844-330-2020 (multiple languages are available via phone).
- Or by mailing in the form you received in the mail.
Any questions can be directed to Sherrie Taylor at taylor@niu.edu
