FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                        WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2002

                                
T. Lynn Riggs                                                 CB02-164 
RDC administrator
(312) 423-4692 
e-mail: tlriggs@frbchi.org

Robert Bernstein   
Public Information Office                                             
(301) 763-3030/457-3670 (fax)                                     
(301) 457-1037 (TDD)                                   
e-mail: pio@census.gov
                                
                 Census Bureau and Northwestern University 
                         Open Data Lab in Chicago

  The U.S. Census Bureau and Northwestern University will formally open a
research data center (RDC) laboratory Thursday, Dec. 19, in Chicago, the
eighth such center in the country.

  Centrally located in Chicago's "Loop," the new RDC offers qualified
researchers restricted access to unpublished economic and demographic data
collected by the Census Bureau. RDC operating procedures, strict security
and strong legal safeguards are designed to protect the confidentiality of
the data.

  Similar centers already exist in Washington; Boston; Pittsburgh; Los
Angeles; Berkeley, Calif.; Durham, N.C.; and Ann Arbor, Mich.

  "The Chicago Research Data Center is located near a large and
accomplished research community," said Bruce Spencer of Northwestern
University's Institute for Policy Research. "The center will enable area
scientists to conduct more powerful social research while protecting the
confidentiality of census data. In addition, the Census Bureau benefits
from methodological work to improve collection, analysis and evaluation of
the data."

  Spencer said research topics will include the relationship between
energy, the environment and economic activity; changes in the structure of
the economy in Chicago and the nation; technological and organizational
change; corporate governance and finance; information dissemination; jobs,
unemployment and work retraining; crime; health and child care;
immigration; and other issues.

  Before being allowed to access data at RDCs, researchers work with the
RDC administrator to generate a proposal, which is then submitted to the
Census Bureau for approval. The review process will determine if the
proposed research is feasible, has scientific merit and benefits Census
Bureau programs, as required by law.

  The Chicago site was chosen jointly by the Census Bureau and the
National Science Foundation. Financial and administrative support for the
RDC is being provided by Northwestern University; the Federal Reserve Bank
of Chicago; the University of Illinois at Chicago; the University of
Chicago; and Argonne National Laboratory; as well as by a three-year,
$300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation.