September 30th is the last day local residents can fill out their 2020 census forms, and area lawmakers are urging them to do so, in an attempt to make sure Vermilion County is represented accurately in state aid and representation, among other things.
Only 65 percent of Vermilion County residents have completed their 2020 Census forms, down from 70 percent ten years ago.
State Senator Scott Bennett and State Representative Mike Marron are leading a push for the census count. Bennett says people can avoid workers having to visit them by simply taking a few minutes to fill the census out.
“That will prevent anyone from having to come to your house, having to ask questions and risk COVID and all that stuff,” Bennett said. “Make sure your family is counted and that your tax dollars that you send in to government come back and are represented in the communities where you live.”
Both legislators say Danville and Vermilion County could lose out on several crucial areas of funding if not enough people are counted in the census. Some of the money would go toward hospitals, schools and as Marron describes it, roadways.
“A lot of the federal transportation dollars come through the area or through the metropolitan planning organization,” he explained. “If everyone doesn’t report, we could potentially lose that status, which would cost not only Danville but a lot of the surrounding communities a lot of opportunity.”
Bennett says many people often complain about not having enough representation in state government, and he says by completing their census forms, they can do something about it.
“When people complain and say, ‘We don’t feel like we have enough downstate representation in Springfield.’ If that’s true, it’s because of where people live, and we want to make sure that we get credit for each and every person that we have living in Vermilion County and east central Illinois,” he said.
Local residents can fill out their 2020 census forms at www.my2020census.gov.
