• CongressLink: Guide to the 109th Congress ~ provides good basic information on Congress, as well as contact information for congress members
• Project Vote-Smart ~ you can type in your ZIP code into the box on the left-hand side
• United States Senate ~ this official site provides information on committees as well as preliminary contact information
  • Illinois Senators
• United States House of Representatives ~ the House's web presence provides summaries of debates on the floor, committee information, and contact information
  • House of Representatives Member Web Site Listing
• Congressional Quarterly's Washington Information Directory (the library has the 2004-2005 edition) Call number: R328.73 W318 2004/2005.(A useful book located in the Reference Section)

Your Topic

What is my topic?

• Congress.org ~ you'll see this site listed a lot within this page, as it is a comprehensive source of information; scroll down until you see the area labeled Issues and Action, scroll to select a topic, and click the "GO" button

How do I find out what bills are pending on my topic?

• Congress.org ~ once you've selected your topic in the Issues and Action section, click on the link labeled "Bills" to display pending bills

Researching a Bill

How do I find out more information on a particular bill?

Background information on the bill and pertinent issues

Finding Journal Articles

• Academic Search Premier ~ 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 campaign finance reform or abortion; 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.

Is this a scholarly journal or a popular magazine?

Finding Newspaper Articles

• Chicago Tribune
• Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe ~ also provides access to newspapers from all over the world
• Newspaper Source ~ another database providing access to newspapers both large and small
• New York Times

Use Webfeat to search several databases at once~ This link accesses our Webfeat federated search engine. This tool allows you to perform keyword searches in groupings of databases (such as legislation and gun control) or our entire database, all at once.

 

The article isn't available full-text online! Now what? Don't fret. Look for these buttons: , or , or this line of text: (Find this resource with SFX) next to the article citation on the search screen. Clicking on this will take you to a list of our full-text sources that carry the journal, if we have it.

 

How has my representative/senator has voted on similar bills?

• Congress.org ~ click on the name of a bill under the same topic; next to the run-down of the vote is a link for "Complete Tally" -- click on this link for a complete listing of who voted how
• Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet ~ click on the button for a search by bill number, then click on the link for "Bill Summary and Status," you will see hyperlinks to related bills
• C-SPAN: Congress Guide ~ Search to find out how officials have voted on key issues; search by session number, key word, or even by member

Did my representative write, sponsor, or cosponsor this bill?

• Thomas: Legislative Information on the Internet ~ includes the Congressional Record, a complete record of legislative goings-on, as well as bill summary and status going back to the 93rd congress; do a search by bill number, and click on the link for "Bill Summary and Status"

Contacting The Politician

How do I write a letter to my Senator or Representative?

• Letter Writing for Advocacy ~ from the Reading Recovery Council of North America; also look at the information on faxing and emailing
• Letter Writing ~ from the League of Women Voters from New Jersey

How do I find contact information for my senator or representative?

• Project Vote-Smart: U.S. Congress Members of Illinois ~ click on a person's name to get biographies and contact information; the most effective way to contact your representative or senator is by using their Illinois address
• United States Senate: Illinois Senators
• United States House of Representatives: House of Representatives Member Web Site Listing

Citing Your Sources

Back to the top

Revised February 5, 2007 by Peg Cook, Librarian
A.C. Buehler Library, Elmhurst College