The U.S. Census is about to get underway.
Without an accurate count, Illinois could lose millions of dollars in federal money and possibly two seats in Congress.
Now local groups are organizing efforts to ensure that people understand why it's critical that they be counted.
WATCH: Newsviews Part 1
However, there are a large number of people in Illinois who are considered 'hard to count'. That includes many in the state's immigrant communities.
Andrea Zopp, CEO of World Business Chicago and co-chair of Chicago's Complete County Committee stopped by the ABC 7 Chicago studio to talk about the importance of the census in our communities.
WATCH: Newsviews Part 2
Linda Xochitl Tortolero, president and CEO of Mujeres Latinas En Accion, also stopped by the ABC 7 Chicago studios to provide more information on one of the organizations doing outreach in Chicago.
Visit Chicago.gov for more details on the census in the city.