ELGIN – State Senator Cristina Castro (D-Elgin) released the following statement after Illinois joined a coalition of other states and municipalities challenging the federal government’s attempt to add a question about a respondent’s citizenship status to the 2020 Census.

“The Census should not be used to push a political agenda,” Castro said. “It was created to find the most accurate data on all persons, not just citizens, and if this citizenship question is added, it will cause people to shy away from participating. We cannot allow this political intrusion to skew the accuracy of findings that we use as a guide for the next decade of public policy.”