Woman charged with harassing Sens. Durbin, Duckworth

BENTON — A southern Illinois woman is accused of making hundreds of nasty and sometimes obscene phone calls to U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth.

The Southern Illinoisanreports that a federal grand jury indicted Jura L. Perkins last week on one felony count of repeated harassing communications.

A criminal complaint says Perkins made the calls to the Illinois senators from May 28 to Oct. 25, leaving voicemails in which she used vulgarities, accused them of being communists, and threatened Duckworth’s baby.

In one message, Perkins told Durbin: “I would be very happy if you died today.”

A judge set a Jan. 3 competency hearing. If found guilty, she could be fined up to $250,000 and imprisoned for up to two years.

Perkins’ defense attorney hasn’t responded to a request for comment.