Spider-Man Helps Promote Kane County, Elgin Census Count

kanecountyconnects / July 9, 2019 / Comments Off / Communities, Education, Events, Government

Kane County’s 2020 Census-counting efforts got a shot in the arm over the Fourth of July weekend from none other than the Amazing Spider-Man.

Mo Iqbal (left) and Spider-Man.

Actually, the costumed super hero was among the participants of Elgin’s Fourth of July parade and photo-bombed the group from Elgin’s Census 2020 committee. The web-slinger is seen in the feature photo of this article standing next to Mo Iqbal, the Kane County Board member who heads the county’s Census 2020 Committee.

“The word is getting out about the importance of complete count for our representation and federal dollars,” Iqbal said.

Kane County, the city of Aurora and the city of Elgin are among the entities with local 2020 Complete Count Committees.

According to the Census 2020 page on the Gail Borden Library website, the Census is critical for determining democratic representation, federal funding and more.

“Experts estimate that each individual counted represents $1,500 in annual federal funding into our community,” the website says.

Click here to view a recent presentation at the Gail Borden Public Library regarding local work on the Census.

Elgin Census 2020 Committee chairs include Laura Valdez-Wilson (city of Elgin), Denise Raleigh (Gail Borden Public Library District) and Karen Fox, (community volunteer and Gail Borden Public Library Foundation member).

Iqbal said at Tuesday’s Kane County Board meeting that the Census 2020 Committee is still in the process of developing strategies and seeking funding for its counting efforts.

The city of Aurora already has been OK’d to receive $130,000 in grant money for its Census 2020 count, according to an article in The Beacon-News.