Lemont High School helping with Census 2010 awareness

7/7/2009

Lemont High School is teaming with representatives from Lemont-Bromberek District 113A, the Village of Lemont and other local leaders to encourage local residents to participate in the 2010 census. The "Complete Count Committee" is working to educate residents about the census and to make them aware of how vital their participation is for the community.

A count of everyone that lives in the United States, a regular census is mandated by the U.S. Constitution and completed every 10 years. Participation in the census is required by law, but that's not the best reason to complete the short questionnaire. Data collected from the census is used to distribute Congressional seats to states, to make decisions about what community services to provide, and - perhaps most important to the local community - to distribute $300 billion in federal funds to local and state governments each year. Citizens can make sure that their communities receive their full share of this revenue, which helps fund roads, schools, social services and grants.

The 10-question census questionnaire is distributed to every household in the community and typically takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. Its subject includes basic demographic questions, such as age, ethnicity, gender, and others. One of every 12 households is asked to complete a longer questionnaire.

Citizens should know that federal law protects the personal information they share as part of the census. The information is sealed for more than seven decades, and is not accessible to any other government agency.

Questionnaires will be mailed to households beginning in February 2010. "Census Day" - the deadline for residents to return their census questionnaires - is April 1, 2010.

Residents can learn more about the upcoming census by visiting its official Web site, www.census.gov/2010census. Lemont residents may contact the Village by clicking here, or by calling (630) 257-1550.