Cook Co. unveils 1st public computer dedicated to census
The Cook County treasurer’s office unveiled the first dedicated census computer workstation in county government, now available to the public.
“We are opening this office up for people to come and register for the census in English, Spanish and Polish,” Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas said.
The workstation is accompanied by resources explaining the importance of the census, and staff members will be available to answer questions. Pappas said they will be able to accommodate other languages.
The decision to launch this workstation was in large part because of the amount of foot traffic that the treasurer’s office receives daily. Pappas boasted her offices will see an increase of people during tax season.
With the 2020 census happening at the same time, Pappas hopes the station can help engage the perceived “hard-to-count” populations in the county.
This is one of many efforts countywide to dispel anxiety people may feel toward the census.
More than a dozen elected officials showed support for the new workstation and expressed how vital the census is for the state’s future.
U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., said roughly $18,000 in federal funding will be lost over the next 10 years for every person not counted in the census.
Cook County Commissioner Stanley Moore (4th) said this is the “most important census we’ve ever had,” and there are challenges ahead that could impede a complete count.
“It’s important to know everyone’s personal contact information or personal information about their household can not be shared from the U.S. Census Bureau with any other body of the U.S. government,” said Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison (15th). “It is too vital that we get complete count here in the 2020 census.”
Households will begin receiving information in the mail between March 12 and March 20 about how to respond to the 2020 census. People can participate by phone, mail or online.
Manny Ramos is a corps member in Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster Sun-Times coverage of issues affecting Chicago’s South and West sides.