City of West Chicago 475 Main Street, P.O.Box 488, West Chicago, IL  60185
	Contact:	Rosemary Mackey
		Marketing and Communications Coordinator
		rmackey@westchicago.org
		Phone: 630-293-2200
		January 23, 2007

City of West Chicago Set for Special Census

January 23, 2007; West Chicago, Illinois - Following successful recruitment efforts which yielded more than 80 interested candidates for the City of West Chicago's Special Census, the U.S. Census Bureau will move ahead with plans to count residents in the Prestonfield and Prince Crossing Farms subdivisions, the new senior apartments on Route 64 and Gateway Centre in the downtown. The Special Census is planned to begin around February 1, 2007.

Participation by every household in these designated areas is vital for the City to realize its share of state revenue that is distributed based on a municipality's population. The following information is provided to ensure a smooth process and a positive experience for everyone involved in the Special Census:

• Special Census enumerators will be wearing an official red, white, and blue badge to identify himself/herself to the resident. For additional information or to verify employment status, you may contact the Special Census office at (630) 293-3220.
• Enumerators will contact every household in the jurisdiction to collect information about every household member personally and by telephone. The interview should take approximately seven minutes, depending on the size of the household membership.
• Enumerators will be working evenings as well as weekends.
• If no one is home after a number of attempts have been made, or a household refuses to be interviewed, a proxy interview will be conducted. A proxy respondent is a respondent who does not live at the housing unit being enumerated.
• The Special Census Questionnaire contains only seven subjects: name, household relationship, sex, date of birth and age, Hispanic or Latino origin, and race.

All information obtained during the interview will only be used for the purpose of the Special Census. Furthermore, all information is absolutely confidential under the United States Code, Title 13. No government agency, IRS, FBI, CIA, Welfare, Immigration or our local government, can obtain residents' individual responses. Moreover, the information cannot and will not be used for any municipal code enforcement.

Residents are asked to provide complete and accurate information about every member of their household, whether they are related to them or not. This participation is vital in continued efforts to build the community. Any questions or concerns should be directed to the Special Census office at (630) 293-3220.

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