Chicago Tribune On the Law Column Chicago Tribune
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CHICAGO--Jan. 18--MILITARY GAY POLICY CHALLENGED IN SUIT: Linking the words
"sexual harassment" with "military" these days virtually guarantees at least
a fleeting image of the Tailhook sex scandal, with its gantlet of groping,
drunken aviators.

But allegations of sexual harassment in a far more subtle form in the
Illinois Air National Guard have surfaced in a lawsuit filed in U.S. ( (Biz
Wire, Inc.)) kes its most extreme diversion: Men, with the exception of
presiding Judge Wayne Andersen, are nowhere to be seen. The plaintiff, the
defendant and all of their attorneys are women.

Sherill Homberg, a Joliet woman who worked as a recruiter in the Air National
Guard's O'Hare office, alleges that her female superviser sexually harassed
her and ultimately damaged her career when Homberg rejected her advances. She
maintains that the woman, a master sergeant, repeatedly stared at her chest
and eventually made sexual advances toward her when Homberg changed clothes
in a locker room. Homberg has since been relieved of her duties as a
recruiter.

The case is even more unusual because Homberg's complaint rests on the equal
protection clause. She is arguing that she has a disproportionate burden of
proof - compared with a plaintiff charging heterosexual sexual harassment -
because of the government's policy on homosexuals in the military. That
"don't ask, don't tell" policy, she maintains, prevents a review of all the
circumstances and effectively denies her any recourse.

"This is an odd situation," said Diann Marselek, the assistant Illinois
attorney general who, with the U.S. Department of Justice, is defending the
case. "There have been other cases like this (same-sex sexual harassment) in
our office, but this is the first with the military that I've ever heard of."


Homberg is suing the Air Force and Department of Defense, as well as the
Illinois Air National Guard and other officials. She is not seeking monetary
damages outright, but instead asks for an end to the government's policy on
homosexuals, as well as various other forms of equitable relief.

Marselek has filed a motion to dismiss the case, claiming the state agency is
immune from the charges and, as a military matter, the federal court lacks
jurisdiction to hear the case. But Lisa Kane, Homberg's attorney, said the
constitutional element should enable the case to withstand jurisdictional
scrutiny.

"The policies the military has to deal with homosexual sexual harassment are
ineffective," Kane said. "This needs to be changed."