Researching
a Bill/Budget Item
How do I find out more
information on a particular bill?
Background information
on the bill and pertinent issues
Finding Journal Articles
- Academic
Search Premiere ~ contains articles from both popular and scholarly sources
on a wide range of topics, many in full text.
- CQ
Researcher ~ published by Congressional Quarterly, this resource weekly
focuses on a particular topic, such as violent video games or the abortion
pill RU486; good for finding out background information or learning more about
the topic at hand
- Lexis-Nexis
Academic Universe ~ this database accesses a wealth of legal news and
information.
- Wilson
Select Plus - this database contains a myriad of current events magazines
and journals
Finding Newspaper Articles
What if the article isn't available
online?
How has my representative/senator
has voted on similar bills?
- Illinois
General Assembly ~ use the box on the left-hand side to search By Keyword
on your topic; find a similar bill, then click on Bill Status; look
to see what kind of action has been taken on that bill, and by what committee;
up at the top, you'll see a link for Votes; click on that link; click
on the link for the reading of the bill, and scan the names of the representatives
or senators to see how he/she voted
- Vote
Smart US
Congress ~ how has your congressperson voted on legislation?
- THOMAS
- Legislative Information on the Internet - by the Library of Congress
What does the President think?
- The
White House ~ a place for all official presidential decrees, briefings,
comments, etc.
Who's
Who?
Who is my Illinois State Representative
or Senator?
What Assembly/Federal committees
does my State/US Representative or Senator sit on?
Back
to the top
Contacting
The Politician
How do I write a letter
to my Senator or Representative?
How do I find contact
information for my senator or representative?
Citing
Your Sources
- MLA Handbook for Writers
of Research Papers, 5th ed. R 808.042 M685 1999 (Ask for this
at Reference)
- Duke University Library
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to the top
Created
7 September, 2005, Ayanna Gaines,
Assistant Reference Librarian
Revised for use with the English Department with much grateful thanks, Jennifer
Paliatka, Assistant
Reference Librarian
A.C. Buehler Library, Elmhurst College