The Peoria Census office is now open at 2200 Townline Road. The phone number for the Peoria office is 309-550-9220.

Don't forget testing for Census jobs is underway!

The 2010 Census will be taking place in Mid-March. It is a count of everyone living in the United States and is mandated by the U.S. Constitution to occur every 10 years. One of the biggest concerns from citizens regarding census data is the confidentiality of information collected. At times there is concern that information provided on the Census form will be shared. That is NOT the case. The Peoria Complete Count Committee would like to dispel some myths associated with the Census. This month the Committee is focusing on the privacy and confidentiality of Census data.

Individual answers from the census are protected by law (Title 13 of the U.S. Code, Section 9) and are strictly confidential. It is illegal for the Census Bureau, or its employees, to share personal information gained through the census process with any other government agency. That includes law enforcement, IRS, Welfare, FBI, Immigration, etc.

Your information is used to produce statistics and your answers cannot be used against you by any government agency or court. All Census Bureau employees take the oath of nondisclosure and are sworn for life to protect the confidentiality of the data. The penalty for unlawful disclosure is a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment of up to 5 years, or both. No court of law, not even the president of the United States can access individual responses.
In fact in 1953, during the Truman administration, the White House had to undergo renovation and it was necessary to relocate the President until the renovation was completed. The Secret Service requested from the Census Bureau, information on residents living in the proposed relocation area for the purpose of performing background checks. However, because census data is confidential, even to the president, the request was denied.

With $400 billion allocated every year to communities throughout the nation based on population counts, the census is an essential funding tool for our communities. This is why it is vital that everyone in this region be counted.