From our friends at the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC).

NSGIC State Representatives and members of state GIS coordinating councils are invited to the May 4 Council of Councils Forum, to be held virtually from 1 to 4 pm ET. 

Register here or email Amy Holmes (amy.holmes@nsgic.org) for help with registration. Please note that members of state GIS coordinating councils - if not NSGIC members - may participate in this special virtual event at a rate of $20 per person. Email Amy with those guest names and she will assist with registration and invoicing.

Through several panels and interactive discussions, participants will hear the stories of several state councils as we explore various council models, purposes, and impacts. Next week’s discussion will continue on as we work to document the ‘anatomy of a council’ to articulate the essential components of a flourishing state GIS coordinating council. 

Please note you must be a current NSGIC member as well as a state GIO, NSGIC state representative, and/or state GIS council representative to register to attend or invite non-members of your State GIS Coordinating Council.

For those in local government working with Census data the following article may be of interest. It refers to the issue of Differential Privacy.  

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

“Differential privacy is a system for publicly sharing information about a dataset by describing the patterns of groups within the dataset while withholding information about individuals in the dataset. The idea behind differential privacy is that if the effect of making an arbitrary single substitution in the database is small enough, the query result cannot be used to infer much about any single individual, and therefore provides privacy.”

Census has been working on this issue for the past several years in advance of the release of the 2020 Census.  Not everyone is happy with or in agreement with the decisions surrounding this issue. 16 states, including Utah, back Alabama's challenge to Census privacy tool:

https://www.ksl.com/article/50145599/16-states-including-utah-back-alabamas-challenge-to-census-privacy-tool

If you rely on Census data for demographic analysis we would recommend keeping up on this issue.

The U.S. Census Bureau recently announced the release of a new interactive apportionment map.  Here is an excerpt from their blog announcement: 

The U.S. Census Bureau launched a new online map ahead of the 2020 Census apportionment results release. The "Historical Apportionment Data Map" currently displays apportionment results for each census from 1910 to 2010. 2020 Census apportionment results will be added to the map as they become available.

The interactive map includes the following types of data for each census from 1910 to 2010:

• Number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• Changes to each state's number of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
• Population per representative for each state.
• Resident population of each state.
• Percentage change in resident population for each state.
• Population density of each state.

 
The interactive map also features:

• Downloadable tables showing the source data.
• Technical documentation.
• Optimization for mobile use

 
Click here to read the full article
​

The ILGISA NG911 Committee was recently featured in an Esri Blog article! Thank you to all the volunteers who have spent countless hours on this project over the last few years!

​When someone in distress calls 911, the dispatcher and first responder must know where the caller is and how to reach them. The problem is, these questions can be far from clear. Cell phones don’t always convey an accurate location and street addresses don’t always match the map.

“A fire department deputy chief told me they regularly get calls from fire crews they send into a neighborhood where all the streets at one intersection have the same name,” said Peter Schoenfield, GIS analyst, Lake County, Illinois. “The dispatcher might say ‘Turn left on Lake Shore Drive,’ but they’re all Lake Shore Drive.”

That scenario is typical of how addresses can become barriers to accurate wayfinding. In the US, local authorities maintain addresses and update shared maps using a geographic information system (GIS). Data is then shared with 911 call centers, known as public-safety answering points (PSAPs).

Click here to read the full article. 

Save the Date: Tuesday, April 27th

Call for Content Now Open - Submit your proposal today!
 
The Illinois GIS Association Program Committee is now accepting presentation proposals for the 2021 Virtual Regional Meeting. Content is welcomed from all GIS professionals and students.
 
Example topics include:
* Latest trends and projects using ArcGIS applications (ArcGIS Pro, ArcMap, Server, ArcGIS Online, Web AppBuilder, Survey 123, Collector etc.)
* New GIS data sources
* Mobile GIS tools and projects
* GIS in Local Government
* GIS for Emergency Response & Transportation
* GIS for Utilities & Asset Management
* GIS for public health
* GIS integrations (Microsoft, CAD etc.)
* GIS coding (Python, Sequel etc.)
* Cartography
* Precision Agriculture
* LiDAR
* Open Source software (PostGIS, TileMill, QGIS, CartoDB)
* Using Unmanned Aerial Systems
* Open Data and Data Visualizations
 
Please note that ILGISA is open to many other presentation topics. This list should only be used as a guide.
 
Presentation types:
* 5 minute lightning talk
* 15 minute presentation
* 30 minute presentation
 
Guidelines:
* All presenters must pay registration fees for the meeting.
* Presentations should be informative and educational - not sales oriented.
​

Date:

October 17 - 19, 2021

Location:

Sheraton Lisle Naperville Hotel
​3000 Warrenville Rd. Lisle, IL 60532

More details will be announced as the event nears. In the meantime, save the date!

Get the latest information on the most recent updates made to the U.S. Census Bureau's new data platform, data.census.gov. Join us for this brief and highly focused webinar where the presenter will cover code releases, new available data sets, new features and functionality, and where you can find helpful resources.

• Date: November 19
• Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
• Dial In: 888-790-3290 or 773-756-4800
• Passcode: 6957736
• Webex Event Number: 199 553 0335
• Link: Log In Details

Event Password: @Data1 (If required, this password is only for users who join from a WebEx application or mobile app.)