Census fears persist, with enormous financial stakes for Chicago and Illinois

BGA reports:

Families already are making themselves scarce. They're avoiding malls and markets, giving up volunteering at public schools, passing on anything that requires a license, such as driving, and skipping the doctor.

"They're afraid to put themselves out there," said Alicia Castaneda, director of social services at Carole Robertson, which traditionally served mostly African-American families, but now serves a 50 percent Hispanic population. "What is the government going to do with their information? They see that really nothing is off limits."

The tourist visa crowd ponders ....