SOC 103 - Naffziger-Hirsch - Online - Spring 2024

• Contact President Joe Biden online, or call the White House switchboard at 202-456-1414 or the comments line at 202-456-1111 during business hours.
• Locate your U.S. senators' contact information.
• Find your U.S. representatives  https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

• Get in touch with your state governor.
• Find the names and current activities of your state legislators.

• Locate your mayor by name, city, or population size.
• Find your Cook County officials.
• Get contact information for your city, county, and town officials.

Institutions that can impact social issues come in a variety of types of organizations.  Some groups include colleges, advocacy groups, associations, think tanks, and government agencies.  A few examples from each category are listed here with links to contact information.  Ask an Oakton Librarian to search for an association, advocacy group or institution related to your social issue topic.

Colleges and Universities

Oakton College - President Dr. Joianne Smith  and the college board of trustees
Oakton College Board of Trustees trustees@oakton.edu
"Tell Us" - Suggestions and Ideas for Oakton  tellus@oakton.edu

Advocacy Groups
Here are two examples of advocacy groups with very different positions on the topic of guns and gun control.  If you want to find an advocacy group on a particular topic, contact an Oakton Reference Librarian via the online chat Ask a Librarian.

National Rife Association (NRA)

March for Our Lives

Associations
There are associations for almost any group.  Here are 2 examples of associations.
Use the Ask a Librarian online chat to help you find an association.

American Association of Retired People (AARP)

American Medical Association (AMA)

Policy Research Groups or Think Tanks

Heritage Foundation

Kaiser Family Foundation

Southern Poverty Law Center

U.S. Government Agencies

Government Agencies by topic

President's Cabinet Members (Examples include Departments of Education, Health & Human Services, Veterans Affairs)

Please remember that  institutions and groups may advocate a specific point of view or focus on a particular issue.  Always explore the "About" section of the group website to begin to understand the focus or purpose of the group.  

Contact information for a variety of news sources can be found below.  This includes traditional newspapers, radio and television stations, and some web based news groups in Chicago.  This is just a sample, there are more to discover.

Chicago Tribune​

Explore the "Letter to the Editor" form of the Chicago Tribune for details about contact information.  

Chicago Sun Times

Explore the "Contact Us" page of the Chicago SunTimes for for details about contact information. 

Daily Herald
(Suburban newspaper covering news in the communities in the Oakton district)

Contact information available on their Customer Service page: https://www.dailyherald.com/info/#newsroom

Chicago Area TV Stations

ABC7 Chicago

CBS2 Chicago

FOX32 Chicago

NBC5 Chicago

WGN

WTTW

Chicago Area Radio Stations - News reporting

WBBM

WBEZ

WGN radio

WLS

Patch - Enter your zip code to find Patch reporting for your area

• Contribute content! Patch welcomes and encourages community members to post directly to the site.
• Keep up with news and events
• Learn more about local businesses and the people behind them
• Participate in discussions