A. Allen: A friendly reminder about the census ANd voting nov. 3 The U.S. Census Bureau is ending all counting efforts for the 2020 census on October 31. The data collection by the federal government happens every 10 years and getting a complete count of our population has big ramifications. It determines congressional representation and it helps the government determine how much funding each community receives for affordable housing, public education, public transportation and public safety. Through the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, StreetWise employed vendors to reach out to the homeless population on the street, to let them know they don’t have to go to the library to fill out the census online, that the census workers would be coming and when they do, they should take five minutes to complete it with them.
INSIDE STREETWISE
If you have not completed the census, it only takes a few minutes. You can visit my2020census.gov or call 844.330.2020 to respond in English, 844.468.2020 to respond in Spanish. There are also customer service representatives for people who speak Chinese, Russian, Polish, Arabic – a total of 11 languages.
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We would also like to remind everyone the election is right around the corner: November 3 for the House of Representatives, U.S. Senate and the President of the United States. In Illinois, the ballot also includes the issue of the progressive tax, which will put less of the tax burden on middle- and lower-income families. Also, because of COVID-19 and social distancing, there will be long lines at the polls on November 3, so vote by mail or vote early.
