In McHenry, residents will likely get more representation on the City Council.
Fox River Grove police officers might retire with more lucrative pensions.
And Algonquin could squeak by with freedom to levy new taxes.
It all depends on the numbers.
Except for a handful of recounts across the country–including one of 9,000 homes in Chicago–the 2000 census is down to the final tallies.
For McHenry County, it has been a relatively successful effort. The mail-back rate was 75 percent, less than a census projection of 81 percent but well ahead of the state average of 68 percent. Official results are expected to be released early next year.
The count is more significant for some communities than for others. Population milestones loom that will require changes in how they operate. Those are the towns that tended to push for participation in the count.
For the rest, burgeoning subdivisions were assurance enough that numbers would be up. Spending money to promote the census seemed unnecessary.
Regardless, people mean money. For example, in Cary, with a population of about 15,000, each person counted in the last census meant the village got $125 in state and federal funds. Cary’s overall budget totals $4.9 million, with $1.88 million of that coming from state and federal funds.
“Any resident you miss, you miss out on state and federal funds and representation. You’re losing out on an accurate portrait of the community,” said Mary Cele Smith, senior planning analyst for the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission.
Other towns are keeping a watchful eye on their population because they may hit benchmarks that would change the way they operate.
If McHenry’s population goes over 20,000–four years ago the population stood at 19,214–state law requires that it must add two more city aldermanic districts.
For Fox River Grove, population 4,257, the expected rise above 5,000 will mean creating a police pension system and police civil service hiring system.
And Algonquin, where the population was 21,400 two years ago, will get more latitude in the way it taxes residents if its population hits 25,000. But some towns have largely ignored the process, arguing that promoting the census would be an unnecessary expense because their residents responded well to special counts two or three years ago. And some municipal officials said spending money to promote the census would have wasted the funds they hope to see increase.
“If you spend a lot of money and, in our experience, there hasn’t been a problem, it defeats the purpose,” said Joe Misurelli, Crystal Lake city manager. “We just didn’t think we could do anything cost-effectively.”
There are no population benchmarks looming for Crystal Lake, which had a population of 34,401 in an October 1997 special census. Crystal Lake’s response rate for the census was 78 percent.
But members of the McHenry County Latino Coalition, a 2-year-old volunteer group that coordinates help for the county’s growing Latino population, knocked on Latino residents’ doors this spring to be sure they understood the importance of filling out census forms.
An accurate count would bring more services to the county’s Latino community, which includes non-U.S. citizens and people who were wary of filling out the forms, said Carlos Acosta, coalition president.
“Latinos for a long time have been an isolated and silent population,” Acosta said. “The more accurate information I could obtain, the better.”
In McHenry, the city’s Human Relations Commission distributed brochures with census information to areas where they know non-English speakers live. Every issue of the city’s quarterly newsletter since September 1999 has included an article on the census. And the city and its school and fire districts coordinated efforts to promote the census under the banner of a “Complete Count Committee.”
“It’s terribly important to the community to have an accurate count, with regard to disbursement of dollars,” said Pamela Althoff, city clerk.
McHenry also wants each resident counted because it might have to increase to seven aldermanic wards from five, if its population reaches 20,000, she said. And should it top 25,000–something officials say is possible–the city would be given home rule, a right, under the state constitution, that gives municipalities flexibility to create new taxes such as city sales taxes and hotel taxes.
Overall, an accurate count means that towns and cities can pay for what their residents need, municipal officials said.
“It’s not our goal to be the fastest-growing county in the state. Too much growth can be difficult to manage,” said Melissa Taylor, administrative assistant in Cary. “But we also want recognition for what we are dealing with.”
