THE BOURBS https://www.bradleyillinois.com/Research/township-assessor-voicemail/ Warning: this story contains a threat of violence and profanity, quoted word for word. It may not be suitable for everyone. We have not censored or edited the recording or the quotes, so no one can claim we changed what was said. The Township Files · October surprise Thursday, October 22, 2026 · Updated Friday, October 23, 2026 Township Assessor calls the wrong guy, threatens to cut “this little guy’s balls off,” then doesn’t hang up By Chloe, The Bourbs Bourbonnais Township Assessor Doug Anderson had one job Wednesday morning: thank his buddy “Steve” for “the contribution.” Instead, at 7:55 a.m., the voicemail landed on the phone of Highway Commissioner Jason Diaz, the man whose office Anderson’s own party is asking you to abolish on November 3. Here is what Diaz heard: “We’re going to cut this little guy’s balls off and stuff them down his throat.” Then Anderson said bye. And he didn’t hang up. UPDATE, FRIDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 23, 2026: Diaz asks the township to keep the assessor out of his workplace Highway Commissioner Jason Diaz has formally asked Bourbonnais Township to keep Assessor Doug Anderson out of his workplace while police look into Wednesday's voicemail. In a statement Diaz says he sent Friday to Supervisor Jeff Umphrey, the trustees, the township's HR representative and township attorney Sean Conway, Diaz says he has filed a police report with the Bourbonnais Police Department “as well as other authorities.” He asks the township to take “reasonable steps” so Anderson does not enter his workplace until police finish and a workplace-safety assessment is done, and to evaluate seeking a workplace protection restraining order under the Illinois Workplace Violence Prevention Act. He asks for a written answer. Diaz emailed the statement to The Bourbs and the Daily Journal at 5:57 p.m. Friday. “This is not a political disagreement,” Diaz writes. “I am raising this as an employee safety issue.” The Bourbs has not confirmed the police report with the Bourbonnais Police Department. The recording itself does not name Diaz; the caller refers to “this little guy.” In his statement, Diaz says the recording implied Anderson intended to castrate and suffocate him. Why he is asking the township: Diaz's petition for a no-contact order was denied and closed Thursday, the Daily Journal reported, citing Kankakee County court records. Under the Workplace Violence Prevention Act (820 ILCS 275), only an employer can ask a court for a workplace protection restraining order. The law counts elected public officers as employees; applies only to employers with at least 15 employees; covers property the employer owns or leases where it does official business; and requires a “credible threat of violence,” a statement that would make a reasonable person fear for their safety at work. A judge decides whether those conditions are met. Whether the township files is up to the township board. The township had not publicly responded to Diaz's request as of Friday evening, and Anderson still has not answered our questions. If Umphrey, Conway or Anderson responds, it goes on this page. Diaz's statement, in full: Supervisor Umphrey and Members of the Bourbonnais Township Board, Bourbonnais Township HR representative, and Sean Conway, Bourbonnais Township attorney, I am putting the Township on formal notice of a serious workplace safety concern involving the voicemail that was left on my taxpayer-funded Highway Department cellphone. I have filed a police report with the Bourbonnais Police department as well as other authorities regarding this voicemail. The statements made in that recording were violent and graphic in nature, including language implying that Doug Anderson was intending to castrate and suffocate me with my own sexual organs. I do not believe I should be required to share a workplace or be in the same building with the individual who made those statements while law enforcement is investigating this matter. If this occurred in any normal workplace—where one employee made statements about castrating another employee and suffocating him with his own sexual organs, it would immediately be treated as a serious workplace-violence issue and the employer would take steps to prevent the employee being threatened from coming in contact with the person who threatened them. The fact that elected officials are involved should not mean that I am entitled to less protection in my workplace. I am therefore formally requesting that the Township immediately take reasonable steps to ensure that this individual does not enter my workplace until the police have concluded their investigation and an appropriate workplace-safety assessment is completed. I am also requesting that the Township and its attorneys immediately evaluate all available protections under the Illinois Workplace Violence Prevention Act, including whether the circumstances support seeking a workplace protection restraining order under 820 ILCS 275. I am an employee of Bourbonnais Township in addition to serving as Highway Commissioner. I should not have to choose between reporting to work and being placed in the same building with someone who has directed this type of violence toward me. This is not a political disagreement. I am raising this as an employee safety issue. The Township is now formally on notice of my concern, and I am requesting a written response explaining what immediate measures will be taken to protect me in the workplace while this matter is being investigated. Jason Diaz Bourbonnais Township Highway Commissioner UPDATE, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2026: Anderson is resigning, effective Dec. 31 Doug Anderson has submitted a letter of resignation as Bourbonnais Township Assessor. The letter is dated October 22, the day after the voicemail, and is addressed to Supervisor Jeff Umphrey and the township trustees. It takes effect December 31, 2026. Anderson writes that he has been the township assessor since 1999 and that after 27 years it is time for “the reins to be turned over to the next generation of Assessors.” He says he is staying through the end of the year so pending tax protests and County Board of Review cases are finished before a new assessor is appointed. The letter does not mention the voicemail. Our copy: https://www.bradleyillinois.com/Research/township-assessor-voicemail/2026-10-22-anderson-resignation-letter.pdf What happened since Wednesday: - Thursday, Oct. 22: Diaz filed a petition for a no-contact order against Anderson. The Daily Journal reports, citing Kankakee County court records, that it was denied and the case was closed the same day. - Thursday, Oct. 22: Anderson signed his resignation letter. - Friday, Oct. 23: Umphrey posted a statement on the township website: “there is no place for profane or disparaging personal insults, whether they be in personal phone messages to supporters intended to be private or in social media posts or in public meetings.” He asked residents to keep the debate over the Nov. 3 Road District referendum civil, and to vote. Umphrey is also the chair of the Bourbonnais Township Unity Party, according to its state filings. Still no donation from “Steve”: On the voicemail, Anderson thanks “Steve” for “the contribution.” The Unity Party filed a new report with the Illinois State Board of Elections on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 4:08 p.m., the day after the call. It is an A-1, the report every committee must file for any contribution of $1,000 or more. It lists three: - $3,500 from Matt Alexander, contractor, Alexander Construction, received Oct. 22. - $1,500 from Brian Rogers, received Oct. 22. - $1,050 in-kind from Jeff Umphrey, the party chair: signs from Cellar Graphics, Oct. 16. None is from anyone named Steve, or from Steven Bisaillon. Before this report, the party had disclosed $1,000 in total since it formed in January 2025. Gifts under $1,000 since Oct. 1 don’t have to be reported until the quarterly report due in January. Anderson still has not answered the questions we emailed him Wednesday. The Daily Journal reported he did not return its calls and texts either. If he responds, it goes on this page. Hear it for yourself: the full recording, unedited [Video: anderson-voicemail-unedited-captioned.mp4] All 75 seconds, with our captions. The audio is not altered. Download the video. Or watch the cartoon version (same unedited audio). Just the audio, exactly as it came off the phone. No edits. [Audio: 2026-10-21-anderson-voicemail-original.m4a] Download the original audio file (M4A, 160 KB) SHA-256: 7d63368b49f88d37170934fdf9b1392def6a7b238e09d8d79b875f0113d6344b Every word, in order The complete voicemail, nothing bleeped or left out. 0:00 “Hey, Steve, Doug Anderson.” 0:04 “I want to thank you for the contribution.” 0:07 “First of all, I want to say I appreciate you as a friend,” 0:12 “and we’re going to cut this little guy’s balls off,” 0:17 “and stuff them down his throat.” 0:19 “Probably something should have been done when he ran against you.” 0:24 “But I want to thank you. It’s a big man to donate that money, and I appreciate it.” 0:32 “Thanks Steve, take care.” 0:33 “And you need to see this little cocksucker, because everything he says is a fucking lie. He never tells one iota of the fucking truth.” 0:47 “Talk to you, Steve. Bye.” 0:49 He doesn’t hang up. Near silence, then background noise. 0:55 A few very faint words that can’t be made out. 1:15 The recording ends. So, to recap The elected official who puts a value on your home for property taxes, paid a base salary of $88,580 a year by township taxpayers: - thanked somebody for money, - talked about cutting a man’s balls off, - called him a cocksucker and a liar, - sent all of it to the Highway Commissioner, - and left the line open on the way out. What the public record says Yes, it was his phone The call came from Doug Anderson’s cell phone: the same number he lists publicly as a real estate agent, and that a county government directory lists for him as an assessor. Screenshots from Diaz’s phone show a missed call from that number at 7:53 a.m. and the voicemail at 7:55 a.m. It is not the assessor’s office line. “When he ran against you” Anderson never says who “this little guy” is. Here is the record: - Jason Diaz has run for Highway Commissioner twice. Both times his opponent was the longtime commissioner, Steven Bisaillon. - 2021: Bisaillon won, 2,205 to 1,807. - 2025: Diaz won as an Independent, 2,184 to 1,984. Bisaillon was on the Unity slate. It was the only township race the Unity slate lost. Anderson ran on that same slate. - August 10, 2026: the all-Unity township board voted 5-0 to put abolishing the Road District, the office Diaz runs, on your ballot. The Unity Party is campaigning for YES. “Thank you for the contribution” What contribution? What money? For what? - No donation from Steve on record. As of Wednesday night, the Illinois State Board of Elections shows no reported donation to the Unity Party from anyone named Steve, and none from Steven Bisaillon. - Since it formed in January 2025, the Bourbonnais Township Unity Party has reported raising $1,000 in total: two $500 donations, both dated September 21, 2026, the same day the township board approved its “educational” FAQ on the referendum (Resolution R-09-26-02). The party’s chair is Supervisor Jeff Umphrey. - We checked again Wednesday night. Nothing new has been filed since the party’s October 9 report, and we found no Bourbonnais campaign committee in Anderson’s name. - What that can’t rule out: smaller gifts made since October 1 won’t be reported until January, and money given to some other committee, or for something other than a campaign, would not show up at all. That is why we asked Anderson. Is this about getting Steve his old job back? Commissioner Diaz is asking it out loud (his full statement is below). So are we. Here is what the record says. - If YES wins, there is no more elected Highway Commissioner. When Diaz’s term ends in May 2029, the Road District’s powers pass to the township board. The board, not voters, would decide who runs the roads and who works on them. - Every seat on that board is held by the Unity Party, the same slate Bisaillon and Anderson ran on in 2025. - The township says it plans to keep the same road crew. We have not seen it say who would be in charge of it. - We have found no record that anyone has promised Bisaillon a job. The township records we have reviewed show him in no township role since he left office in 2025. And the voicemail never gives Steve’s last name. The questions that need answers - If the Road District is abolished, who manages the roads after May 2029? A hired manager, a contractor, someone else? - Has any board member, or Anderson, talked about hiring, appointing or contracting with Steven Bisaillon, for any role? Has anyone talked about it with him? - Would that job be posted publicly and filled in the open? - Is Bisaillon the “Steve” in the voicemail? What was “the contribution”? Voters decide November 3. Nobody has answered these yet. Jason Diaz: “I believe Doug Anderson should resign immediately” Diaz posted the recording on his own Facebook page Wednesday. In that post, he says the voicemail was left on his “taxpayer funded Bourbonnais Township highway commissioner cellphone.” He gave The Bourbs this statement, printed in full: “I’m appalled that anyone would talk about another person like this, let alone someone who has been an elected official for more than 20 years. We’re elected to serve the same people, we’re supposed to be able to work together to make our community better, regardless of our political or personal differences. Politics have become incredibly divisive as well as violent, and comments like these raise a very real concern for me. I have four children, including three young daughters. Do I now have to worry about my physical safety or the safety of my family simply because I am calling blatant abuse of tax money by elected officials? The other part of this voicemail is incredibly concerning as well. What exactly is this donation to the Bourbonnais Unity party for? Does making a political contribution help Steve Bisaillon get his old job back if the Road District is abolished? The supervisor, trustees, clerk, as well as the previous highway commissioner all ran with Doug Anderson under the Unity party. And this voicemail raises serious questions. I believe Doug Anderson should resign immediately and I believe he owes me an apology as well as the residents of Bourbonnais Township. Elected officials should lead by example, let alone one who has been in office for 20+ years.” Jason Diaz, Bourbonnais Township Highway Commissioner, statement to The Bourbs, October 21, 2026 Diaz’s statement names Steve Bisaillon. The voicemail itself never gives Steve’s last name. The Unity Party’s state reports show no donation from Bisaillon. What we asked Doug Anderson We emailed Anderson Wednesday evening and offered to send him the recording. We asked: - Did you leave this voicemail? - Who is “Steve,” and who is “this little guy”? - What contribution, and what money, were you thanking Steve for? - Who is “we,” as in “we’re going to cut this little guy’s balls off”? - Will you apologize to Commissioner Diaz? Do you plan to stay in office? - Does any government pay for the phone you called from? His answer He had not answered when this was posted. If he does, it goes right here. We also asked the Mayor of Bradley On October 12, the Bradley Village Board unanimously passed a resolution urging Bradley voters to say YES to abolishing the Road District. Mayor Mike Watson told the Daily Journal, “This is very much our business.” We asked him for comment on the voicemail. He had not responded when this was posted. In fairness - The message was meant for a friend named “Steve.” Nothing on it suggests Anderson knew Diaz would hear it. - Diaz is Anderson’s political opponent in this fight, and the Highway Commissioner whose office is on the ballot. His statement is his own view. - Anderson didn’t say when, where or how. Whether he meant it is his to explain. We asked. Read the rest of the story This lands in the middle of the Road District fight we have been covering for weeks. On your ballot Nov. 3 Should the Road District be abolished? What a yes vote actually does, why nothing changes until 2029, and what happened when a neighbor asked the board to show the savings math. The Township Files Bourbonnais Township, by its own records Ten parts: the money pile, the aid it gives, who gets paid, the $100,000 tornado gift, the records wall, and the one real race. Coming next We looked up the phone number the call came from. It led somewhere we didn’t expect. More soon. Coming soon: We heard the rumors about Jeff Umphrey’s exit from the Kankakee Area Career Center. On paper, it was a retirement. So why did it come with a signed separation deal? Extra money added to his last five paychecks in exchange for a full release. A board vote, taken after a closed-door session, that never used his name. And the disclosure forms he signed while the career center was paying him. We have the documents. You vote November 3. Early voting is open now at the Kankakee County Clerk’s office. Sources - Voicemail recording, provided to The Bourbs by Highway Commissioner Jason Diaz on October 21, 2026, with screenshots of his phone’s call log. Transcribed by The Bourbs and checked against the audio. - Jason Diaz, statement to The Bourbs, October 21, 2026, and his Facebook post of the recording, October 21, 2026. - Kankakee County Clerk, certified Abstracts of Votes: April 1, 2025 consolidated election (canvassed April 15, 2025) and April 6, 2021 (canvassed April 20, 2021). - Kankakee County Clerk, 2025 Voter Information Guide (party labels). - Bourbonnais Township website, “Total Compensation Exceeding $75,000 as of June 1, 2026.” - Illinois State Board of Elections, Bourbonnais Township Unity Party (committee #40317): every quarterly report from 2025 through the July 1 to September 30, 2026 report filed October 9, with itemized contributions. - Bourbonnais Township board special meeting, August 10, 2026 (recording), and Resolution R-09-26-02, adopted September 21, 2026. - bourbonnaistownshipunityparty.com (“VOTE YES”). - Daily Journal / Shaw Local, “Bradley Village Board endorses Bourbonnais Township ballot question to eliminate road district,” October 14, 2026. - Public real estate agent listings and a county government assessor directory for the phone number. The Bourbs is independent local news covering Kankakee County. Everything on this page is reporting. The quotes are exactly what was said on the recording or in writing to us. If you think we got something wrong, get in touch through BradleyIllinois.com and we will check it and fix it in public. Published October 22, 2026. Updated October 23, 2026. We will update this page if Doug Anderson, Mayor Watson or anyone named here responds.