McLean County Times

The coronavirus pandemic might make the census seem unimportant, but McLean County officials are urging residents to input their data as it remains important for the community.

Although the April 1 publicized deadline has passed, the census website continues to allow U.S. residents to fill in their data.

“We depend on federal funding for the services we provide,” Christy Germanis, director of marketing and public relations with YWCA McLean County, told the McLean Chronicle. She said federal dollars the YWCA receives helps them with programs such as assisting sexual assault victims.

The organization tried to inform more people about how important the census is with its Y Women County campaign.

Multiple McLean County agencies and organizations had plans for promotional events to get more people to take the census. They designed events to aid people who don’t have technology at home.

“That lack of Internet access has become a little more real now because so many places are closed,” Germanis said to the McLean Chronicle. Kiosks were scheduled at local libraries for people to take the surveys. But the coronavirus pandemic stopped that from happening.

Germanis and other organizers used other tools to get the word out including social media.

McLean County’s census figures for 2018 showed a population of 172,828.

The McLean County Farm Bureau and the other 94 farm bureaus across Illinois were given tablets to help people take the census at their offices, Ann Ziegler told the McLean Chronicle.

Like the Y, the farm bureau had to shift its efforts. Ziegler said staff gives visitors information on how they can take the census online.

“A lot of the people that live near farm bureaus are in rural areas and are part of an aging community,” Ziegler said. “They might not have access to high-speed Internet,” she told the McLean Chronicle.