The census road tour vehicle stopped in Greektown Monday morning. The stop is not the headline. It's the message: to get counted.
"Everybody can get counted, whether you're a citizen or not a citizen, whether you've been incarcerated, no matter what it is, we need you to get counted. Because the more people get counted in the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois, the more money comes to our state," said Ald Walter Burnett, 27th Ward.
An estimated $400 billion is allocated to states and communities across the country from the census.
Census information helps determine the locations for schools, roads, hospitals, job training and determines how many seats each state has in the House of Representatives.
Now the push is to include everyone and to do that the census needs help.
"We're getting everyone ready to get everyone counted. And also, the census is hiring people. So if you need a job, come and sign up for the census, get busy and get some money," said Burnett.
"It's really important that we get the people in the neighborhoods out there counting people in their own neighborhoods and counting their neighbors," said Jennifer Sciacca, U.S. Census 2010.
Census 2010 is recruiting 100,000 people this year in Illinois alone.
Job seekers must fill out applications and take a basic skills test. Those hired can make between $11 and $18 dollars and hour for this temporary job.
"It's day, evening, weekend hours. I mean people can do this on the side and it's a really good opportunity to make some extra cash," said Sciacca.
The census jobs are both administrative and field work. And they can be either part time or full time. The government will begin hiring next month on a staggered schedule.
U.S. Census Jobs
1-866-861-2010
2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs/
Application: 2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs/pdf/BC-170D_fillable.pdf
Practice Test: 2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs/pdf/Practice_Test.pdf
