JOUR 400: Reporting I (Local)
Statistics
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American FactFinder
This is the Census Bureau's tool for accessing 1990 and 2000 census data, with more recent
statistics for states and selected cities and counties. Some earlier census data is in the
Historical Census
Browser.
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Census of Agriculture
Provides statistics from the county to the national levels.
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Champaign-Urbana Public Health District web site
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County and City Data Book 2007
Demographic, social, and economic data for states, counties, cities, and towns.
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County Business Patterns and Zip Code
Business Patterns
These two sources indicate how many businesses (by type) are located in each county and zip
code area.
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Crime in Illinois
Published annually by the Illinois State Police. Documents reported crimes in Illinois
cities and counties, and in some special jurisdictions, such as universities and parks.
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Crime in the United States
Topics include crime, arrests, and law enforcement personnel. The preceding title was
Uniform Crime Reports for the United States (1930-1997).
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Historical Census
Browser
Contains state and county data for the years 1790 to 1960.
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Illinois Board of Higher education
Find statistics on educational institutions, teachers, and students.
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Illinois Department of Public Health
Provides statistics on births, deaths, marriage and divorce, abortions, health care, and
related topics at the state and county levels.
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LexisNexis Statistical
Includes statistics in every field. To get local data, check
by County,
by City, or
by Metro Area below the heading, Geography.
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Report Cards
for Illinois schools
Provides statistics on each school and school district in every Illinois county.
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Search for Public Schools
Provides statistics on each primary and secondary school in the United States.
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State & County QuickFacts
Contains demographic and business statistics issued by the U.S. Census Bureau.
- U.S. Decennial Census (in print)
This is the key to historical information about specific counties and communities from 1890
to the present. Arranged chronologically on the east and south walls of the Government
Documents Library.
Points about statistics in general:
- Governments are the main source of statistics.
- Most
local statistics are processed, distributed, and often collected by state and federal
governments.
- You can generally find more data on large geographic entities than those that are small.
- People in government may modify statistical definitions for political reasons, so don't use
them uncritically.
- Many statistics can't be accessed through search engines.
- Data gathering and processing is labor intensive and costly.
Key points about census statistics:
- There's more than one census. Beside the census of population and housing, there's an economic
and agricultural census. Agricultural and economic censuses are conducted in years ending with the
digits '2' and '7'.
- It takes roughly one to three years to process and publish census data.
- The American Community Survey (ACS) updates the decennial census (i.e., the census on
population and housing). The ACS is much less precise and is only carried out for cities and large
towns.
- Census terms can be strange.
Place means city or town.
- Every census addresses new topics and drops old ones, and the questions asked (and not just the
answers) tell us much about ourselves. Census takers in the 19th century asked respondents
face-to-face whether anyone in the household was an
idiot.
Textual Sources
Databases
County Communities
General Sources
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Community
Profiles
Click on the first letter of the town or city's name to access a page containing data on
economic development, employment, utilities, taxes, transportation, health care, and local
schools.
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State and Local Government on the Net
In the left sidebar, click on the Local Govt. pull-down menu, select Illinois, and click on
Go. An alphabetical list of county and community names will appear. Each community name
is linked to a town or city web site.
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Community Information by Zip Code
Includes population, housing, education, health, environment, business, and political
statistics.
Champaign
Urbana
Mahomet
Rantoul
Savoy
General Information
Student Government & Organizations
University Government
Other Sources
Illinois Freedom of
Information Act
USA.gov
University Library