Man found guilty of threatening state representative
A DuPage County jury deliberated for less than two hours Thursday before finding Stephen Bona guilty of two counts of making threatening telephone calls to state Rep. Jeanne Ives.
Bona, a former Chicago resident who now lives in California with his 74-year-old husband, faces either probation or between two and five years in prison when he is sentenced on April 29.
Ives, a Wheaton Republican, testified during his trial that she felt threatened and afraid when she learned of a voice mail left at her district office on March 20, 2013.
Bona was arrested and charged just hours after Ives' legislative assistant reported getting the 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 crosshairs of a gun," Bona said on the voice mail, played several times in court Wednesday.
Bona went on to suggest that "perhaps we should do the same for you. We know where you live."
Bona is accused of leaving the message after Ives' February 2013 appearance on a Catholic Conference of Illinois radio show. On that show, she said same-sex marriages are "disordered" and couples are trying to "weasel their way into acceptability."
Ives' former legislative aid, Kathleen Murphy, testified that she called Wheaton police as soon as she listened to the voice mail. She then called Ives, who was in Springfield.
"Jeanne Ives was terrified for herself. She was terrified for her family. It was natural what she felt," Assistant State's Attorney Jim French said during closing arguments. "She would be crazy not to think there are maniacs or some groups of maniacs out there who know where she lives and are talking about guns.
"No one should have to endure what Jeanne Ives endured that day."
Bona's attorney, Stephen Richards, argued the case was so insignificant that not even the police or prosecutors took the charges seriously enough to collect all of the necessary evidence to even bring it to trial.
"Did they do their job in this case? Not even close," said Richards, who also argued Bona's statements were not meant to be threatening and were protected by the First Amendment.
Bona testified Tuesday that he never intended to threaten Ives but merely wanted to make her think seriously about and change her stance on the issues of gay marriage and gun control.
After Thursday's verdict, DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin disagreed with Richards' assessment.
"The First Amendment to the Constitution guarantees everyone the right to free speech. What the First Amendment does not do, however, is to allow free speech to digress into threats against public employees or elected officials," Berlin said. "These men and women who have chosen public service must be allowed to do their jobs without having to worry about their personal safety or the safety of their families."
Ives declined to comment after the verdict, other than to thank prosecutors and Wheaton police "for their professionalism."