By Neil Doyle

BLOOMINGTON – It may seem far away, but the 2020 U.S. Census is in April.  Communities around Illinois, including Bloomington-Normal, are preparing for the tally.

Bloomington City Manager Tim Gleason said city staff will be heavily involved in getting the word out.

“Trying to market this as much as we possibly can because this is critical when we talk about federal funding and different opportunities,” said Gleason.

Bloomington Mayor Tari Renner noted the federal funding, but said it also provides important information for the local area.

“City managers and county administrators throughout the country constantly rely on this information to decide how, when and where to provide public services,” Renner said.

In Normal, City Manager Pam Reece said the town has a census committee, but its also part of the McLean County Complete Count Committee.

“Students are citizens, so there is always an extra effort to get awareness to Illinois State University and Heartland Community College that they are in fact citizens of the community,” said Normal Mayor Chris Koos.

Gov. JB Pritzker and the state have allocated nearly $30 million to support the census tally. According to Pritzker, that’s more spending per-capita than any other state in the nation.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]