Illinois REALTORS® are encouraging friends, family and neighbors to participate in the 2020 U.S. Census.

The census not only helps determine Congressional representation, but it reveals trends in local communities and determines government funding for public services such as schools, hospitals, roads, school lunch programs, Section 8 housing choice vouchers, student loans and national school lunch programs, the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) reports.

Residents can use census forms received in the mail, register online at 2020census.gov or participate by phone. Call 844-330-2020 between 6 a.m. and 1 a.m. Central Time to answer questions in English. For those who are more comfortable communicating in another language, the census survey is offered in 16 different languages, too.

NAR is a national partner in the 2020 census and offers information about the census that members can share. Resources include videos, infographics, talking points, press releases, tweets, social media posts and links to volunteer opportunities. Local associations can earn core standards credit by participating in census-related activities, too.