U.S. 2020 Census kicks off with first mailings to Du Quoin homes
Perry County residents will get their first 2020 U.S. Census notifications in their mailboxes this week.
Tom Davenport, a partnership specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau, said that the notifications will tell residents how to get online and fill out their census questionnaire quickly and easily.
"A code (on the notification) will allow you to go online and complete the form," he said.
However, people who are uncomfortable doing the form online - or who do not have access to a computer - will also have the option of calling a phone number and completing the census form with a live question-taker, he added.
Residents will get three notifications. If they do not do the form online or over the phone, the fourth notification will include a paper copy of the form, with instructions on how to fill it out and send it back, Davenport said.
Residents who do none of those things can expect a knock on the door from an official census-taker starting about May 1, he added.
The Du Quoin Public Library staff has been getting training over the past year on how to help people fill out the online form, and Librarian Kristina Benson invites residents to come to the library if they want help.
The librarians are not employees of the Census Bureau but they are prepared to help, said Du Quoin City Clerk Ruth Hale.
Davenport, whose territory includes Perry, Randolph, Washington, St. Clair and Monroe counties, is volunteering to meet with groups in Du Quoin - fraternal groups, church groups, garden clubs, etc. - so members can ask him questions. Groups that want to bring him in should email him at thomas.davenport@2020census.gov.
Davenport said libraries all over Illinois have had the opportunity to train, and he's grateful that Du Quoin's has.
The online form is available in 12 languages, Davenport said, and added that human guides are available who speak 59 languages.
He said the notification cards are being staggered over six days next week to avoid overwhelming the postal service, so it's possible one house could get a card on Saturday but the house next door will get theirs on a different day.