CHICAGO – Today, John Sirek, Interim Executive Director of CHANGE Illinois, had this to say about the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census:

“The decision to politicize the census by asking for individuals’ citizenship status will only impede our ability to have a full and fair count of every person living in our state and nation,” said John Sirek. “Instead of an accurate count, the citizenship question will discourage immigrant and other communities from completing the Census form causing these communities, and the State of Illinois as a whole, to be undercounted. This undercount will further exacerbate the problem of gerrymandered districts and further diminish the opportunity for fair representation and resource allocation at the local, state and federal levels.”