Statistics

• 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. Click here for instructions on using this resource. Some earlier census data is in the Historical Census Browser.
• Census of Agriculture
  Provides statistics from the county to the national levels.
• Champaign-Urbana Public Health District web site
• County and City Data Book 2007
  Demographic, social, and economic data for states, counties, cities, and towns.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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).
• Historical Census Browser
  Contains state and county data for the years 1790 to 1960.
• Illinois Board of Higher education
  Find statistics on educational institutions, teachers, and students.
• 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.
• LexisNexis Statistical
  Includes statistics in every field. To get local data, check by County, by City, or by Metro Area below the heading, Geography.
• Report Cards for Illinois schools
  Provides statistics on each school and school district in every Illinois county.
• Search for Public Schools
  Provides statistics on each primary and secondary school in the United States.
• 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.

• Champaign County Department Directory

Databases

• Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO)
  Use ECHO to determine whether compliance inspections have been conducted by EPA or State/local governments, if violations were detected, and if penalties were assessed.

County Communities

General Sources

• 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.
• 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.
• Community Information by Zip Code
  Includes population, housing, education, health, environment, business, and political statistics.

Champaign

• City of Champaign homepage
• Champaign QuickFacts
• Champaign Public Library and Information Center

Urbana

• City of Urbana homepage
• Urbana QuickFacts
• Urbana Free Library
• Urbana Municipal Documents Index

Mahomet

• Village of Mahomet homepage
• Community profile
• Mahomet Public Library District

Rantoul

• Village of Rantoul homepage
• Community profile

Savoy

• Village of Savoy homepage

UIUC

General Information

• Index to Campus Data Sources
• Budget Book
• Campus Profile
• Student Enrollment Information
• UIHistories Project

Student Government & Organizations

• Student Senate
• Illini Union Board
• Registered student organizations

University Government

• Board of Trustees
• Campus Administrative Manual
• General Rules Concerning University Organization and Procedure
• Senate
• University of Illinois Statutes