A former top staffer for Illinois Congresswoman Cheri Bustos is speaking out about the secret tapes that lead to her resignation and the clergyman who covertly recorded her.
Heidi Schultz was the district director for Bustos, until this week, when a controversial audio tape was released by Bustos opponent Bobby Schilling.
The person who recorded Schultz without her knowledge has been identified as Austin Quick, a former paid staffer of Schilling.
"It's him, no doubt," said Schultz in an interview Thursday with WQAD-TV.
"I believe he was trying to set me up and he succeeded, unfortunately. At the time he did the tape, it was definitely illegal to be taping," she said.
Quick is a seminary student in Mundelein, Illinois.
He showed up at a district office in Rockford last December.
Quick asked Schultz at the time about the Congresswoman's position on being pro-choice and a Catholic.
Schultz is heard on the audio tape describing part of Rockford as very urban and very poor, saying "Not people that, um, spend a lot of time in church. More in jail, than church."
She resigned shortly after its release.
Schultz now remembers a man coming in to the office wearing a priest's collar back in December.
"I was very surprised when we were able to connect the dots. The only person that came in and asked me that question was a gentleman in a collar who was a priest or priest in training and he presented himself as a member of the Roman Catholic church and he's illegally taping me? I'm shocked," she said.
She says the comment she made was "wrong" and "inappropriate," but says the covert taping is a new low in area politics.
Quick worked for Schilling in 2009. According to his Facebook page, he had dinner with Schilling and his wife about a week after he taped Schultz.
Schilling's campaign initially described Quick only as a "constituent" who they declined to identify because releasing his name could impact his career.
"It's okay to out me though? They're going to protect him, but throw me under the bus? I'm disappointed that they would go to this new low of trying to go after somebody who isn't even a candidate," she said.
Schultz is battling breast cancer, and says a summer encounter with Schilling is now disturbing.
"In August during a parade, Bobby Schilling came up to me and said he was praying for me, and at the same time he knew he had a piece of tape of me that was recorded without my knowledge that he was going to use against me?" she said.
The only reason I was in this job was to do helpful work, I really feel like a victim, they have victimized me which is very unfortunate".
"I will definitely stay away from the world of politics. It's just really not a nice business," she said.
Quick has deleted his Facebook account and declined comment for the story.