So I have a question for the members of the forum out there.
what is the role of political cartoons as part of news information?

trying to help a friend with an assignment and all I can think of that they prompt critical thinking by illustrating a thought or idea through the use of an illustration with some satire sprinkled in.

I wouldn't put political cartoons in the category of news. I'd put it in the category of editorial. I'd say they exist to make a political point.

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In most cases, they are a graphic representation of public opinion about something.
As an example, on multiple occasions in the early 20th century the Standard Oil Company was depicted as an octopus, coiling railroads, ships, and even cities and the government in it's tentacles. This was an outcry against their monopoly in the fuel industry, and demonstrated how one company could have a damaging effect on every aspect of our lives by controlling a market.
Another one depicted Hitler, holding a knife to the neck of a goose named Poland, with the caption "I only want a little slice of the neck". In this case, it was clearly demonstrating the effect of allowing Hitler's army to cross Poland unchecked.
People also tend to retain and interpret images much better than text, so cartoons tend to be more memorable than a boldly written factual piece.

One cartoonist worth researching is the late Herb Block. When I was a kid, he was the the editorial cartoonist for the Washington Post, which was and is our local paper. I thought his stuff was dorky, for lack of a better term, when I was a kid, but I when I got older I looked at a collection of his work and saw it it in a different light entirely. He was devastating.

"The devil cannot abide being mocked."

- C.S. Lewis, "The Screwtape Letters"

Editorial cartoons mocking the Muslim faith only serve to pose a death threat to said cartoonist!

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They can also refocus public attention on an aspect of an issue which was purposely glossed over by the powers-that-be, so that the issue goes away.

The cartoon refocuses on a visual image which can sometimes stick better and more poignantly than the words alone.

Everyone knows Al Pacino's portrayal of a drug dealer who kills rivals after delivering the famous line: "Say hello to my little friend"

The image was so strong, you don't need it any more. The words alone do the trick. And the expression can be alluded to, and used in other contexts.

This is what political cartoons do. The twist is that the cartoon can focus on any aspect of the issue, large, small burgeoning or passe.

That is their genius.

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