The following 2020 Census Office report for November 2019 includes updates about selected Regional Intermediaries (RIs), the merit-based review team, and the 2020 Census timeline.
2020 Census Regional Intermediaries
In response to the 2020 Census Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), thirty-nine complete applications were submitted by the September 13th, 2019 deadline. The applications were reviewed and scored through a merit-based review process. The merit-based review scores guided the selection of 30 Regional Intermediaries that will be responsible for providing subgrants to organizations to provide census education and outreach throughout the State.
The Northwest region of Illinois, which includes Jo Daviess, Carroll, Whiteside, Lee, LaSalle, Bureau, Putnam, Henry, Mercer and Rock Island Counties, was not awarded a competitive grant in this round due to the lack of an applicant that met the necessary criteria. To ensure every area in Illinois is fully included in the Census 2020 program, a new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Northwest region was released on October 18th. All applications are due on November 4, 2019 by 5:00 pm CST.
The following is a summary of the 30 selected RIs and their corresponding grant awards:
| Region & Regional Intermediary |
Grant Award Amount |
| Central |
|
- Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies
- Illinois Primary Health Care Association
|
$100,000
$500,000
|
| Chicago |
|
- Community Assistance Programs
- Habilitative Systems, Inc.
- Illinois Action for Children
- Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights
- Pilsen Wellness Center
- Puerto Rican Cultural Center
- Rincon Family Services
- University of Illinois @ Chicago
- YWCA Metropolitan Chicago
|
$1,000,000
$2,350,000
$1,000,000
$2,000,000
$135,000
$215,000
$1,000,000
$200,000
$1,000,000
|
| Collar |
|
- Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies
- Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights
- Metropolitan Mayors Caucus
- Reaching Across Illinois Library Systems (RAILS)
- United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, Inc.
|
$200,000
$750,000
$300,000
$750,000
$200,000
|
| North Central |
|
- Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies
- Tri-County Regional Planning Commission
|
$150,000
$500,00
|
| Northeast Central |
|
- Champaign Urbana Public Health District
|
$695,000 |
| Northern |
|
- Region 1 Planning Council
|
$920,000 |
| Southeast Central |
|
- Clay County Health Department
- Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies
|
$350,000
$50,000
|
| Southern |
|
- Illinois Public Health Association
|
$700,000 |
| Southwest Central |
|
- Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies
- Teens Against Killing Everywhere
|
$330,000
$330,000
|
| Suburban |
|
- Illinois Action for Children
- Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies
- Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights
- Metropolitan Mayors Caucus
|
$750,000
$750,000
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
|
| West Central |
|
- Western Illinois Regional Council
|
$300,000 |
At this time, no grant funds have yet been disbursed.
Merit-Based Review Demographics
IDHS, with recommendations from academia and the 2020 Census Advisory Panel, assembled a team of reviewers with expertise, diversity, and a commitment to a fair and accurate count in 2020. The following is a summary of the merit-based review team's demographics:
- 54% identified as people of color, and 46% identified as white.
- They work and live in the following areas: 49% Chicago, 29% downstate, and 22% suburbs and collar counties.
- 100% of reviewers have expertise working with two or more hard-to-count (HTC) populations.
Census Activity Timeline
The chart below combines and details upcoming census activities of both the 2020 Census Office and the U.S. Census Bureau:
| Activity |
Date |
| 30 Regional Intermediaries (RIs) Announced |
October 18th 2019 |
| RIs select local organizations within their region |
October 18th - November 8th 2019 (rolling basis if gaps identified) |
| On-Boarding/Orientation Meetings with all RIs |
Week of November 11th 2019 |
| RIs Work Plan Implementation Begins and Contracts with Subrecipients Executed |
Week of November 11th 2019 |
| USCB invitation to respond to 2020 Census Online |
March 12-20th 2020 |
| Census Office determines further need/gaps and provide grants to address |
By March 31st 2020 |
| USCB reminder letter to complete census |
March 16-24th 2020 |
| USCB reminder postcard mailed |
March 26th - April 3rd 2020 |
| USCB reminder letter and paper questionnaire mailed |
April 8th -16th 2020 |
| USCB final reminder postcard mailed |
April 20th - 27th 2020 |
| USCB follow up -in person enumerator |
May-July 2020 |
| RI and subrecipient outreach and education efforts conclude |
July 2020 |
| USCB delivers census count to President and Congress |
December 2020 |
| USCB delivers redistricting counts to States |
March 2021 |
