Forbes after the ruling came down. “This is a precedent setting case in Illinois, because the Human Rights Act has never been tested in this way in Illinois, and actually in the country.”Sommerville’s framing of the decision isn’t hyperbolic.
Friday’s ruling marks the first instance of protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity that last year’s Bostock v.
Clayton County decision guaranteed to federal employees extending to employees of private companies.“The court basically says this was not just transgender discrimination, it was sex discrimination, which is what federal courts have found,” said Jacob Meister, Sommerville’s attorney. “What this court said is, as a matter of Illinois law, Meggan’s sex is female.