 The
U.S. Constitution mandates a count of
everyone, both citizens and noncitizens.
Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution
states:
The actual Enumeration shall be made within
three Years after the first Meeting of the
Congress of the United States, and within
every subsequent Term of ten Years, in such
Manner as they shall by Law direct.
The federal government has followed this
mandate since the first census in 1790. The
Constitution's framers intended all
inhabitants of the country to be counted in
the census, and so it has. Unfortunately, in
the same article the Constitution also
dictated that slaves be counted as
three-fifths of a person, which they were
until slavery was abolished in 1865.
The first United States census in 1790
estimated the country's population at
3,929,214. The most recent census, in 2000,
showed the population to be 281,421,906. The
population for 2010 is estimated to have
eclipsed the 300 million mark.
The Census Bureau has advertised that the
2010 census is one of the shortest census
forms in history, touting it as "10
Questions in 10 Minutes." The Census Bureau
is no longer using the so-called "long
forms." Previously, one in six households
received a more detailed questionnaire
asking for specific social and economic
information. This year, the census will
consist of only a 10-question form asking
basic questions, such as name, gender, age,
date of birth, race, ethnicity, relationship
and housing tenure. The form asks to account
for everyone living at an address as of
April 1, 2010.
While the long form is being discarded,
the Census Bureau will continue their
"American Community Survey," sent to several
thousand representative households a month
in each state, asking more involved
questions about the household, including the
income amount, who provides the health
insurance, the mode of transportation for
work and the amount of living expenses for
that household.
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The following questions will be asked on
the 2010 Census Bureau form:
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How many people were living or staying
in this house, apartment or mobile home
as of April 1, 2010?
-
Were there any other additional people
staying here as of April 1, 2010, that
you did not include in Question 1?
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Is this house, apartment, or mobile home
owned by you or someone else, or is it
rented?
-
What is your telephone number?
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Please provide information for each
person living here. Start with a person
living here who owns or rents this
house, apartment or mobile home. If the
owner or renter lives somewhere else,
start with any adult living here. This
will be Person 1. What is Person 1's
name?
-
What is Person 1's sex?
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What is Person 1's age and what is
Person 1's date of birth?
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Is Person 1 of Hispanic, Latino or
Spanish origin?
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What is Person 1's race?
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Does Person 1 sometimes live or stay
somewhere else?
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If more people were counted in Question
1, continue with Person 2.
Delivery of the 2010 census forms in
Illinois is scheduled to begin in the first
week of March. Once households receive the
form, they are asked to complete it and mail
it back in the postage-paid envelope
provided. The Census Bureau considers a
person's residence the place where a person
lives or sleeps most of the time. The form
is available in six languages.
If an additional form or additional help
is needed, many communities have set up
community centers for census information.
One such place in Logan County is at the
Lincoln Heritage Museum at Lincoln College.
The Census Bureau is under the direction
of the U.S. Department of Commerce. For more
information about the 2010 census, visit
2010census.gov or call 866-872-6868.
[Text from
file received from Ron J. Keller]
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