Both candidates for the Illinois House from the 95th District are condemning a mailer containing an offensive image, and police agencies are investigating.

The image on the mailer is the face of state Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Raymond, added to a picture of a naked woman, said Christian County Sheriff Bruce Kettelkamp.

“It makes my blood boil somebody’s doing this to somebody who is in public office,” Kettelkamp said, saying he received "a couple phone calls" Thursday from people who got the fliers, and he also heard that some people had brought them to the Christian County GOP, and that at least a couple were reported in Montgomery County. He said the campaign believes a list of Bourne contributors may have been used by whoever sent out the fliers.

Master Sgt. Matt Boerwinkle of the Illinois State Police said his agency received a complaint about the mailer and was opening a criminal investigation. Kettelkamp said he will pass along any information he discovers to the state police.

Bourne’s campaign said in a Facebook post that a “lewd, fake photo” of Bourne had been mailed to voters.

“We take this disgusting threat and act of intimidation very seriously and are working with state and local law enforcement to investigate,” the post states. It calls the mailer a “sickening stunt.”

Bourne’s Democratic opponent, former Macoupin County Circuit Clerk Mike Mathis of Gillespie, issued a statement Thursday condemning the “offensive postcard” that some residents found in their mailboxes. He said it had been “manipulated to embarrass” Bourne.

“I denounce this offensive piece in no uncertain terms,” Mathis said. “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. ...”

He said the perpetrator should face severe punishment for distributing the “offensive and degrading material.”

Jim Birge, manager of the Sangamon County Farm Bureau, said one of the fliers was received at his office in Springfield on Wednesday, even though the 95th doesn’t include any part of Sangamon County. He said someone on his staff who saw the flier was “pretty disturbed.” Birge said he called Bourne’s office about the mailing, and Bourne stopped by the office to retrieve it.

Birge said his organization’s political committee is not involved in the 95th race because the district is outside of the county.

— Contact Bernard Schoenburg: bernard.schoenburg@sj-r.com, 788-1540, twitter.com/bschoenburg.