Illinois Aging Network Alert May 24, 2019

Illinois Aging Network Alert May 24, 2019
A report of the impact Area Agencies on Aging have on Illinois seniors.

Your Support is Vital in Assuring Accuracy in the 2020 Illinois Census!

An accurate count in Illinois is vital in assuring Illinois receives its fair share in Federal dollars and representation in Washington D.C.  An accurate count of our seniors is vital to assure our senior population will receive the funds to serve our rising senior population.   

If the Illinois census is undercounted in 2020 – we can anticipate the following:

• Illinois could lose two congressional seats.
• Illinois could lose seats in the Electoral College, thus decreasing our influence in future Presidential elections.
• Illinois could lose a significant portion of our state’s annual allotment of $19.7 billion in federal dollars if immigrant, rural communities, low income communities and ethnic populations are not counted in 2020.
• In total, Illinois could lose $1.2 billion in funding over the next decade if our state’s census in undercounted, which could come out to $18,000 per each person.

Other Issues Impacting Undercounting:

• Lack of trust in our government, especially if a citizenship question is added to the form. An estimate of noncitizens living in Illinois is nearly 1 million people, which accounts for 7% of our population.  Our federal constitution mandates that all persons be counted.
• Internet based - Many residents do not have access to internet, especially low income and rural households. This is especially a problem with our seniors, since many seniors are not computer savvy and do not have access to the internet.
• History tells us that young children, minorities, immigrants, low income, rural, people with disabilities, homeless, LGBTQ community has been undercounted.

What can be done to ensure a complete and accurate counting? 

Illinois must invest in the census.  The Illinois Complete Count Commission is asking for $25 million in state funds for outreach, especially to “hard to count groups” such as rural and minority residents, educate people on using the internet, and to promote the importance of completing the census.  Correction:  We are also asking the General Assembly to support 2020 Census funding to the Illinois Department on Aging so we can reach out to older Illinoisans to complete the census.

We must invest in our census and invest for our future.   Your support is vital to assure an accurate census count in 2020!  Thank you!

For more information, contact Susan C. Real, Legislative Chair (309-829-2065 ext. 218) or Joy Paeth, I4A President (618-222-2561).