OAK BROOK, ILLINOIS (October 6, 2020) — With the door-to-door data collection of the Census drawing to a close, a statewide advocacy group is sounding the alarm regarding Census-undercounted parts of Illinois, saying that time is running out to catch up.
“For two years, we’ve been preparing and then doing outreach for the Census,” said Walid Sankari, Census Coordinator for the Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition. “There are lots of groups like ours. We’re all seeing the same thing. People who are not counted by now are just hard to count, and time is running out.”
According to data compiled by the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), lead agency of the Coalition’s Census project, the areas with the lowest response rate in Illinois are New City/Back of the Yards at 37.9%; South Lawndale/Little Village at 40.05%; Dixmoor at 48.5%; University Park at 59%; Chicago Heights at 57%; Cicero at 54.7%; and Waukegan at 44.9%.
“Imagine a school getting half the supplies it needs. Imagine an emergency, like a flood or tornado, and half the help arrives,” said Reema Kamran, Executive Director of the Coalition. “That is what an undercount is like. And it tends to hit the most vulnerable communities the hardest.”
ICIRR describes the Coalition as a “critical member” of their campaign because of their leadership. The Coalition has hosted 148 live events, held 28 webinars, reached 23,872 people through direct outreach, made 85,041 phone calls, and has 111,038 social media impressions as part of its intensive Census counting efforts.
“The Coalition's dedication and enthusiasm for the important work of educating our communities about the Census is clear, especially through their impressive phone banking operation,” said Maria Fitzsimmons, census director at ICIRR. “They have assisted hundreds of households in completing the questionnaire, contributing to the effort for every person and community in Illinois to have a voice in Congress and access to life saving resources.”
Sankari said that experience has taught the Coalition that community will be instrumental in improving the count in these final days. The Coalition urges community organizations to reach out to them for messaging and materials. “Your group can send the email; you can send the text,” he said. “What matters is that someone reaches out to folks and tells them their lives will actually be impacted by a Census undercount.”
The Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition is a collection of citizens and organizations across the state with a commitment to improving civic life in Illinois for everyone. To learn more, visit ilmuslimciviccoalition.org.
