CHICAGO (AP) – The Chicago Urban League says the state of Illinois should spend $33 million for community leaders to spread the word about the 2020 census.
The Chicago Tribune reports that Illinois could lose billions of dollars in federal funding and one or two congressional seats if there’s an undercount next year. An undercount happens when the census counts a smaller number of people or homes in a population than shown by an independent estimate.
The Chicago Urban League report uses data analyzed by the George Washington University’s Institute of Public Policy.
The department found that at least $34 billion in federal subsidies for programs that directly benefit Illinois residents is tied to census statistics.