* From Rep. Avery Bourne’s Facebook page…

From the Bourne Campaign:

Our campaign has recently become aware of a lewd, fake photo of Rep. Bourne being mailed to voters in the area. We take this disgusting threat and act of intimidation very seriously and are working with state and local law enforcement to investigate. If anyone has information about who is behind this sickening stunt, we ask that they call 217-836-2177.

I’ve been trying to get a copy of the mailer, which I’m told photoshops her head onto another woman’s body, which, I’m told, isn’t clothed.

* The pic came in a manila envelope with first class postage…

More info as it comes in. But whoever did it is supremely stupid and evil.

…Adding… From her Democratic opponent…

State Representative candidate Mike Mathis issued the following statement Thursday condemning an offensive postcard sent to some area residents:

“Late last night, some local residents brought to my attention an offensive postcard found in their mailboxes that had been manipulated to embarrass State Representative Avery Bourne.

“I denounce this offensive piece in no uncertain terms. This goes beyond a late campaign dirty trick. It degrades and insults all women and is an insult to Representative Bourne, our families and our values.

“I have a daughter. The thought of someone using her image and degrading her in this way for any reason at all, let alone for a political purpose, turns my stomach and, as a father, makes me furious.

“I’m angry for Representative Bourne, and I’m outraged and truly saddened that politics in our own small towns have come to this. I urge any law enforcement and local, state and federal agency with any jurisdiction over this incident to investigate the matter and severely punish whomever is responsible for this offensive and degrading material.”

Needless to say, the Republicans ain’t buying it.

…Adding More… For those of you who are claiming without evidence in comments that Bourne must’ve done this to herself, just stop it now. Her grandmother and her great-grandmother both received copies of this mailer.

Again, stop it. Banishments will commence henceforth.

…Adding Still More… From all House Republican women…

We have recently become aware of a lewd, fabricated photo of State Representative Avery Bourne being mailed to individuals across Central Illinois. The contents of the doctored photo are designed to intimidate Rep. Bourne and alter the outcome of the upcoming General Election on November 8th.

As women dedicated to serving the people of Illinois, we find these sexist tactics on a fellow woman legislator disgusting and appalling. We are all keenly aware that politics and campaigns can be rough at times, but these sickening attacks are an affront to our democratic process and strongly discourage women, whether intentionally or not, from stepping up and serving their communities in an elected capacity.

As the youngest member of the General Assembly, Rep. Bourne has worked tirelessly to shatter any preconceived notions about her age or gender and her capacity to serve her constituents of the 95th House District. Voters in Central Illinois should be honored to have a State Representative as dedicated and committed to them as Rep. Bourne, especially as she undergoes such nasty and vile attacks from her detractors.

We look forward to her returning to the General Assembly and stand with her during this time of adversity. Those responsible for creating this repulsive mailer must be held accountable and punished to the fullest extent of the law.

       

50 Comments - Grand Avenue - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 12:56 pm: T-126 Hours until this election is over. T-127 Hours until the 2018 Clusterbomb begins. - Signal and Noise - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:03 pm: You mean whichever HGOP intern concocted the idea? - HRC2016 - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:04 pm: This is disgusting and should not be tolerated by either side. - Amalia - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:04 pm: wow. stunning. and deplorable. - Team Sleep - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:08 pm: Avery Bourne is a personal friend of mine. I know this race has been nasty but this is unacceptable. Mike Mathis and the DPI need to come out and condemn this action. Like now. Signal and Mr. Westen - are you two serious?! - Team Sleep - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:13 pm: For some of those questioning Avery’s claim, I can tell you that the rhetoric against her from my home area is pretty pathetic. A word that rhymes with “chore” is used quite often. - working stiff - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:13 pm: mathis page already has statement https://www.facebook.com/MikeforIL95 - walker - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:18 pm: Neither party’s staff would stoop to this level. There are some volunteer crazies that come out of the swamp once in a while. - so... - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:18 pm: ==Those College Republicans will do anything to salvage their pizza buddy Avery. ANYTHING! Borne is behind and this is a desperate act.== ==You mean whichever HGOP intern concocted the idea?== You people are insane and should be ashamed of yourselves. - Hamlet's Ghost - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:20 pm: Supremely stupid and evil? Yes, absolutely. But it won’t move the needle on Tuesday’s results. Whether this was a stupid Dem trick or a stupid GOP false flag trick or just some random idiot (and as of yet there doesn’t seem to be evidence as to which) too few people outside hard core political types will ever hear about it. - Team Sleep - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:21 pm: Yeah - what a terrible thing to say and iterate. Regardless of how the race may be breaking that is a shameful accusation to throw around. - Annonin' - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:22 pm: Inspector Clouseau is that barcode on the bottom of the mailer offer clues. - Lil Squeezy - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:27 pm: Agree with Walker that neither party would do this, but both are getting close to being capable. The sex offender mail pieces suggest both are not far off. - Daniel Plainview - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:27 pm: Somewhere the ghost of Dale Righter’s torched car is smiling. - A guy - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:31 pm: Pigs. - Madison County State of Mind - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:32 pm: Beyond gross. Hope the authorities can track down the folks responsible for it - AC - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:32 pm: Until we learn more about who is behind this, we won’t learn what the intention was of the person behind the mailer. However, I can certainly this being far more effective as a “false flag” operation to unfairly discredit Mike Mathis than anything else. - Grand Avenue - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:41 pm: How many of these were actually sent out? - wordslinger - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:43 pm: The bar code certainly is the place to start if you want to get to the bottom of things. - Raise Your Hand - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:47 pm: Look at these comments. Shameful! If this had been done to a female Democratic incumbent, I’m guessing you wouldn’t have been so quick to assign blame to her own supporters. But since State Rep. Bourne was appointed with backing from Governor Bruce Rauner, she and her supporters suddenly become your outlet for hatred and hypocrisy. This site’s commenters are really showing their true colors recently. - Anon221 - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:48 pm: “Needless to say, the Republicans ain’t buying it.” Mathis response was well said and sincere. Will those who aren’t buying it now, still whisper and point “Because Mathis” if it turns out his campaign had absolutely nothing to do with this mailer? Honestly, what good does that do? It’s childish and does nothing to show that there are things in this world that partisanship absolutely needs to rise above. Join him in his outrage, and work together to find out the sick person or persons who did this. Then… prosecute to the fullest extent possible. - Gus - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:48 pm: I really love how liberals scream and moan about the GOP’s “War on Women,” then when something so vile and disgusting happens to a Republican woman, they’re quick to point the finger at her. You guys make me sick - Beautiful weatherman - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:53 pm: You guys might want to slow down or the stores in the Springfield metro might run out of tin foil. - Been there, done that - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 1:55 pm: Why would these be sent to anyone in Springfield? That is not in her district. - burbanite - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 2:02 pm: Unless Mathis is a stone cold fool, I am not buying that he is the source. I am more inclined to think this is someone trying to make Mathis look bad than Bourne. - Delimma - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 2:02 pm: If you don’t like money=free speech, then change that rule. This is the exact same kind of horrible dark money politics that never should have been allowed. This is swift boat, but in this case, swift pole. - Anonymous - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 2:02 pm: Intelligent Bar Code says: Zip: 62703-7306 Delivery Point: 31 Barcode-ID: 94 Service Type: 009 Mailer-ID: 208613 Serial Number: 064600258 Google says zip 62703-7306 includes: Sangamon County Farm Bureau 2631 Beechler Ct Springfield, Illinois, USA 62703-7306. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 2:04 pm: ===Sangamon County Farm Bureau=== That’s who tipped the GOP last night. - AlfondoGonz - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 2:22 pm: I humbly suggest we reserve finger-pointing until we have even the slightest idea who may be responsible. - Phenomynous - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 2:28 pm: Delimma - “swift pole” Have you seen the mailer? - Trolling Troll - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 2:31 pm: Sangamon County Farm Bureau gave the Jimenez campaign $4042.92 on 9/23/16. - Behind the Scenes - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 2:34 pm: I received the piece of trash yesterday. Mailed in Springfield on Monday. I’m at least 14 miles from her district. Showed it to our State’s Attorney last night, who encouraged me to make a report to the Sheriff’s office (which I did today). Talked by phone with a postal inspector today who told me that absent a threat, there really wasn’t anything they could do (4 inspectors who cover 47 counties). Appeared to have been printed by a commercial concern because of the data printed on the back of the photo. - Ron Burgundy - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 2:34 pm: Hey, wild baseless speculation for everybody!!! Disgusting. - Anonymous - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 2:45 pm: Behind the Scenes, please call 217-836-2177. Thank you. - Grand Avenue - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 3:14 pm: I don’t see how anyone political would be this stupid. This MUST be taken seriously because it sounds more like something a deranged stalker would do rather than a dirty trickster. - Lil Squeezy - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 3:24 pm: I think it’s tin foil hat to consider either party or candidate on this one. It just doesn’t make any sense. It was most likely a crazy person, maybe they thought they were helping Mathis, maybe they thought they were helping Bourne. Doesn’t really matter what they were thinking bc they are crazy. They just mailed pornography. - Anon221 - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 3:26 pm: WAND is reporting there will be a press conference at 4 pm- http://www.wandtv.com/story/33625985/bourne-campaign-lewd-photo-mailed-to-voters - Present - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 3:27 pm: Avery’s father is probably very unhappy about this. She has 2 brothers as well.I hope they find out who did this. Like to see them face those 3. - Honeybear - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 3:35 pm: This is truly deplorable and I hope they can figure out what happened and who is responsible. - State Engineer - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 3:39 pm: I know Mathis. He’s a good man. There’s been a lot of mud slinging from but I would Guarantee he wasn’t involved in this filth. - Someone you should know - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 3:42 pm: Present-It’s always good when one introduces Physical Violence into a Campaign Situation. Very reminiscent of a Banana Republic of old. Or the Old South. Class man, Class. - Present - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 3:50 pm: Did I say violence? No. I know them. This person should have to face them. Btw just read Illinois Times article on Bourne. I’m still processing it.hmmmm btw classy is all relative someone you should know. - Jon - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 4:13 pm: Present, come on man it’s 2016 and time for you move beyond your archaic values… Ms. Bourne herself should get the first crack at the perpetrator(s). After this campaign season I’m beginning to think dueling should be in vogue again, I’ve found that the risk of being shot has made me much more civil in the past. - State Engineer - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 4:15 pm: Jon I must admit the Dueling thought occurred to me as well esp with a certain National Candidates boorishness. - Way South of I-80 - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 5:16 pm: I live in the district and get several mailers from both candidates on a daily basis, including every day this week. Did not receive this particular mailing. - Capitol View - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 5:26 pm: So much nonsense at the federal and local level… I’m hiding on a beach or a cave until after election day. - Tough Guy - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 6:44 pm: I live in the 95th and it is not unusual to receive two or three mailers from the candidates a day. Did not get this one. It will be interesting to see who got these as it appears they targeted members of her family and some people that live outside the district. Also if the above posts are correct they were mailed from Sangamon County which is also outside the district. Just saw the Christian County Sheriff holding a press conference on the Springfield TV station though. I wonder how many of the mailers they have recovered so far I guess we’ll stay tuned and agree that whoever did this should be dealt with severely. y - Chris Hicks - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 7:10 pm: I don’t appreciate the individual who called me a “weirdo”. - Team Sleep - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 7:36 pm: Rich - if you are a glutton for punishment then you should check out the Springfield area news outlets’s social media pages about this. Absolutely disgusting and infuriating. There are people who believe Rep. Bourne deserved this and see nothing wrong with this. Words fail me. - Jibba - Thursday, Nov 3, 16 @ 9:54 pm: While this is beyond the pale and I condemn it, how is it a “threat and act of intimidation”? Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.