Quote:
Originally Posted by shoebox303
Are there still people that believe that ANY elected official listens to his/her constituents?
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Like anything else... some will listen and some won't. Some will write back and some won't.
The way I see it - if you feel strongly about an issue, but don't communicate it, can you really criticize your elected officials? If you do communicate, and they don't listen or respond... well then you're totally justified in trashing them. - And in that case you should.
I've actually had good response recently from some representatives in my state legislature. I've been targeting the state legislature because I believe the state level is more appropriate for addressing the issues I'm concerned about. One thing I've found useful is to identify the bills that have been proposed that I support, and then write to the legislators in support of those bills. I've been quite impressed with the responses I have gotten. I don't necessarily agree with all the responses. But it gets the dialogue going. And, I have a lot more respect for a representative who writes me back with their position (even if it's not exactly in line with mine) than for one who doesn't write back at all. As a result of some persistence, I've got a copy of the draft of proposed legislation for CT's energy policy. I'm providing feedback on points that are of interest to me. Will it make a difference? Maybe. Maybe not. But it definitely wouldn't if I wasn't communicating.
What's the issue your interested in? Perhaps it makes sense to start with your state legislature.
http://www.illinois.gov/government/gov_legislature.cfm