Macomb Mayor Mike Inman said it appears the city’s special census will be done in the fall of next year.
“We have a tentative timeline of next September for that to occur,” Inman said. “That is where we’re headed. Fall of 2024.”
Local leaders feel the U.S. Census Bureau undercounted the city’s population during the 2020 census. The bureau found Macomb’s population is 15,051.
The city believes a recount could add 678 residents, and perhaps up to 1,078.
The federal government uses census figures to determine its distribution of funding for hundreds of programs, such as school lunches and infrastructure.
The city has also asked for recounts in the past. The special census in 2013 boosted the city’s population from the 2010 figure of 19,288 to 21,509 – an increase of 2,221.
The city expected a lower headcount in 2020, in part because enrollment fell at WIU. But the census bureau’s finding was a couple thousand fewer than what the city projected.
The city estimates the special census will cost $361,319.
Macomb is not alone in feeling undercounted by the census bureau. Illinois is challenging the agency’s count for the state.
State officials believe Illinois was undercounted by almost 2%, which could cost it $1.2 billion in federal funding over a decade.
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