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* UPDATED x1 - Second threat received, charges upgraded * Rep. Ives receives threat

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Illinois

* A disorderly conduct charge has been filed against a Chicago man for a phone threat he made against a state legislator…

Wheaton Police Chief Mark Field said 49-year-old Stephen Bona was charged Friday, hours after Republican state Rep. Jeanne Ives reported getting a threatening voice mail at her district office.

“Your Tea Party brethren Sarah Palin put up a map that included the names, locations and faces of Democratic candidates and put them in the cross hairs of a gun,” a caller says on the voice mail, a recording of which Ives provided to the Daily Herald.

The caller goes on to suggest that “perhaps we should do the same for you. We know where you live.”

What Rep. Ives said the other day was absolutely ridiculous and she refuses to back off…

Ives has drawn heat for telling a Catholic Conference of Illinois radio show last month that same-sex marriages are “disordered.” and couples are trying to “weasel their way into acceptability.” […]

Monday, Ives said she didn’t regret her comments, noting “I know I speak for my district when I speak on that issue.”

“I knew exactly what I was saying when I said it,” she said.

But, really, I don’t care what she said then or now. Rep. Ives does not deserve to be physically threatened. Totally and thoroughly disgusting.

Watch your mouths in comments, folks.

*** UPDATE *** From a press release…

Charges Upgraded/Bond Set at $150,000 for Chicago Man Charged With Threatening State Representative

WHEATON - DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert B. Berlin announced today that bond has been set at $150,000 with 10% to apply for a Chicago man charged with making threatening phone calls to Illinois State Representative Jeanne Ives. Yesterday afternoon, Judge Michael Wolfe issued a $150,000 arrest warrant for Stephen S. Bona, 49 (d.o.b. 11/08/1963) of 903 W. Roscoe, Chicago. Bona was taken into custody late yesterday afternoon by the Wheaton Police Department. A short time later he posted bond and was released from custody.

It is alleged that on Friday, March 22, at approximately 9:42 a.m., Bona called the office of Representative Ives and left a threatening message. An investigation into the matter led to Bona who was charged with misdemeanor Disorderly Conduct. On March 25, following a second alleged phone call, the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office upgraded the charges to Threatening a Public Official, a Class 3 Felony.

“My office takes any threat or perceived threat against a public employee or elected official very seriously,” Berlin said. “For our government to function properly, it is imperative that public servants be allowed to serve without having to worry about their personal safety. I would like to thank the Wheaton Police Department for their fine work on this case as well as Assistant State’s Attorney Tim Diamond for his efforts.”

While probationable, a Class 3 Felony is punishable by up to five years in the Illinois Department of Corrections. Bona’s next court appearance is scheduled for April 29.

Members of the public are reminded that this complaint contains only charges and is not proof of the defendant’s guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Paul Darrah
Communications Manager
DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office

[Emphasis added.]

Oy.

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 8:52 am

Comments

Probably a regular commenter on newspaper sites.

Comment by wordslinger Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 9:01 am
Awful, as much as I disagree with her. And all he did was make her a sympathetic figure and change the conversation away from her comments. Nice going, moron.

Comment by ChicagoR Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 9:04 am
If you want others to be sympathetic to your cause, or you are trying to change minds, it makes me ill to think this person thought threatening a legislator is a good plan.

No one … NO ONE… deserves to feel threatened, or to BE threatened.

Comment by Oswego Willy Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 9:08 am
Ahh geesh… People seem to have forgotten the advantage of the moral highground.

Comment by The Muse Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 9:10 am
I am not Stephen Bona…

Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 9:17 am
Representative Ives is a person of moral integrity. You don’t have to agree with her or support her ideology. She is who she is, and did not hide it in her campaign. As a West Pointer, she took (and still takes seriously) a vow not to lie or cheat or tolerate those who do. For her to reverse positions would be breaking that vow. The real “creep”, Belle, is the person making threats, not the person (Repbulican, Democrat or Independent) who sticks to their beliefs and those on which the voters elected them.

Comment by LisleMike Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 9:17 am
Is there a separate charge or crime for threatening a public official or is this simply a disorderly conduct charge ?

Comment by siriusly Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 9:28 am
district office staff feel uncomfortable when interacting with the public more often than you might think. but this guy is way over the line. i am glad he got popped.

Comment by langhorne Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 9:42 am
rich, i agree totally. however, with all due respect, you threatened all of us a year or two back. i do not remember the topic but basically you said if we blogged improperly you said “i will find you and hurt you”. now if that was tongue in cheek, i apologize in advance. it did not seem in jest to me, and i was offended for what it is worth.

Comment by wizard Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 9:43 am
Goes to show you that there are a lot of nut jobs. I tell you what, I give credit to anyone that runs for public office in this day in age given the general public’s view on politicians. It is a shame that somone stooped that low.

With that being said, Rep. Ives has branded herself as a hostile, polarizing, vocal, cage-rattler who might by the most un-popular (non-indicted) legislator in Springfield. This new anti-government legislator type will not be effective in this State. I don’t know why anyone chooses this brand.

Comment by Dirt Diver Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 9:45 am
Freedom of speech, freedom to marry.

Comment by Reo Symes, M.D. Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 9:50 am
Does every group have some embarrassing person like this?

Comment by John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 10:01 am
I agree. As much as I despised her comments, she doesn’t deserve to be threatened or harmed. Thats ridiculous behavior. Just because she doesn’t do or believe in what others believe, doesn’t mean she deserves this type of wrath. And she has children that have to face this as well. It’s wrong and thank you for bringing light to it Rich.

Comment by Sandy Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 10:10 am
Ok, totally agree on the threats - absolutely unacceptable! But regarding her remarks, didn’t she say in a press release that they were “misinterpreted” at first? And now she says she “knew exactly” what she was saying when she said it. That makes more sense, kind of hard to misinterpret the whole weasel thing…

Comment by Oh, please Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 10:16 am
The real fear here is that, at 49 y/o, Mr Bona may have procreated. A legacy with legs, a mouth but, sadly, minimal cerebral capacity.

Comment by dupage dan Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 10:36 am
IMO- This action should warrant more than a Disorderly Conduct charge.

===a vow not to lie or cheat or tolerate those who do. For her to reverse positions would be breaking that vow.===

Lisle,

How does having a ‘change in position’ equal ‘lying or cheating’? Nearly everyone’s viewpoints evolve over a lifetime. The human race is constantly evolving its thought process of what is right and wrong.

Comment by Endangered Moderate Species Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 11:00 am
How about a brief moment of thought to Bill, who gave his life protecting the politicians and staff in the Capitol.

You can’t take threats lightly.

Comment by Norseman Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 11:06 am
First off, no one should be threatened for their beliefs, so let’s get that out of the way….2nd, let’s not go off and create a martyrdom statue for Ives and her bigoted opinions - the future will regard the uss over “same sex marriage” the same way it regards the blatant racism of the civil rights movement pushback…3rd ===a vow not to lie or cheat or tolerate those who do. For her to reverse positions would be breaking that vow.=== yet, ironically, that’s exactly what she did on the pension issue…Ives chose convenience over integrity there…

Comment by Morty Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 11:26 am
It is a shame that someone would stoop so low as to threaten a person they disagree with, even a bigot like Ives.

==“I know I speak for my district when I speak on that issue.”==

As someone who lives in her district, she may represent us, but she certainty doesn’t speak for many of us. She was a lock to get elected because of her strong party ties and the joke the Dems ran against her. I hope she doesn’t misinterpret her victory as some sort of mandate on her views, because it was not one.

Comment by iThink Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 11:37 am
I wrote a note to the Representative. Told her that her comments were vile a State Representative with such bigoted views was unfit to serve. I got my message out without being a total nutjob. I don’t care who you are, nobody deserves this. And it goes even further across the line when somebody says “we know where you live.” Now you’re bringing family into it. Not. Acceptable.

Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 11:37 am
To all those dissing Ives for her opinion, wasn’t that the same opinion held by POTUS just a couple of months ago?

Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 11:40 am
Cinci - I don’t believe the POTUS ever accused gays of trying to weasel their way into acceptability. You seem to try to weasel your delusions into acceptability, however.

Comment by Small Town Liberal Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 11:45 am
=====“Your Tea Party brethren Sarah Palin put up a map that included the names, locations and faces of Democratic candidates and put them in the cross hairs of a gun,” a caller says on the voice mail, a recording of which Ives provided to the Daily Herald.====== Why has Sarah Palin never been arrested for promoting this type of behavior against government officials? We all know what happened to the government official in AZ!

Comment by Mama Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 11:45 am
=== wasn’t that the same opinion held by POTUS just a couple of months ago===

Perhaps they had the same opinion on the policy, but I don’t recall POTUS using such hostile language in support of his position. Nice try at making this equivalent Cinci, but it’s not even close.

The whole “weaseling” thing was way over the top. Having said that, threats are always out of bounds and this guy is going to have to answer for his stupidity. A felony conviction is no joke.

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 11:52 am
I said her opinion, not how she said it or any other action, 47th.

Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 11:53 am
Again, nice try Cinci. Most of the criticism of Yves isn’t about her position, it’s been about how she’s publicly spoken about her position. You’d be wise to leave Obama out of this.

Speaking of Obama, didn’t your friend Kirk Dillard appear in a campaign ad for a certain pro-choice Democratic candidate for president who now supports gay marriage? Think anyone will remember that?

I’m happy to keep reminding people. I think it was one of Dillard’s finest moments in politics.

Comment by 47th Ward Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 12:02 pm
Better reread some of the comments above, 47th.

“- Morty - Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 11:26 am:

….2nd, let’s not go off and create a martyrdom statue for Ives and her bigoted opinions”

for example.

I do not believe Dillard said anything about agreeing with Obama’s position on pro-life/pro-choice. But your memory is probably better than mine… and what’s Dillard got to do with this anyway? I notice you always like to bring Dillard up whenever you have the chance. I’m sure he can count on your vote…

Comment by Cincinnatus Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 2:34 pm
@Cinci:

It’s also nice to see you take every opportunity to bash Obama. What will your type do when he leaves office? Such a dilemma.

Comment by Demoralized Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 2:46 pm
Demoralized 47th Ward,

No one deserves to be threatened for their views. However, is anyone really surprised with this comment? She has been known for shooting from the hip when she makes comments for a long time. She is a hard worker and will go places if she just learns to stop sticking her foot in her mouth.

Comment by Francis Underwood Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 3:26 pm
“Representative Ives is a person of moral integrity”

Hmmm, not really. No. But she does deserve to speak her feeble mind without fear of violence.

Having worked in a legislators office, I can say this happens probably more than it is reported. People get very cryptic and emotional and it can be freaky.

Comment by L.S. Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 4:03 pm
@ LS: Let me get this straight. If you and I disagree, I must be the one without integrity?
That she was threatened is the discussion, not whether she has a feeble mind (in you words) Integrity is sticking to your words whether threatened or not. Integrity is keeping your word.
I thought sniping was off the table today, but…

Comment by LisleMike Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 4:23 pm
She is obviously crazy - based on the bills she attempts to run - crazy attracts crazy.

Try this for a quote - “For our government to function properly, it is imperative that public servants be allowed to serve without having to worry about their RETIREMENT SECURITY.”

That is all.

Comment by Anonymous Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 4:40 pm
Don’t feel too sorry for her. It is a law that you can not “threaten” a politician but they can threaten you. One more law that protects the “haves”.

Comment by ..and another thing Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 5:46 pm
I was trying to comment that I don’t see this as a threat. Stupid? Yes. Harassing? Maybe. Threatening? Nope.

That is without hearing the entire audio. And possibly being warned the first time not to contact the state representative

Names, address, other contact info is all public records. “we know where you live.” I’m sorry but that’s not a threat.

BTW, I’ve worked for legislators so I’ve been on the end of some weird calls. I have sympathy for them to some degree — I just don’t think this raises to the level of a felony.

Comment by Anon1 Tuesday, Mar 26, 13 @ 6:52 pm