Bed & Breakfast Owner Sued By Illinois Attorney General For Not Paying Damages To Men Denied Same-Sex Ceremony On Property
The Illinois attorney general has filed a lawsuit against a Christian bed and breakfast owner for not paying $30,000 in damages to two men who filed a discrimination complaint against him after he declined to allow the men the ability to hold a ceremony celebrating their civil union on his property.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed a complaint in Ford County Circuit Court on October 23rd against Walder Vacuflo Inc., who operates the TimberCreek Bed and Breakfast in Paxton, Illinois.
“Madigan’s complaint alleges Walder Vacuflo has failed to comply with an order issued by the Illinois Human Rights Commission (IHRC) directing the company to pay damages to a gay couple after refusing to host their civil union ceremony,” a press release from Madigan’s office outlines.
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TimberCreek identifies itself on the main page of its website as “an upscale Christian country bed and breakfast,” tucked away in a small farming community. The facility hosts baby and bridal showers, business meetings, church retreats and other events.
Local resident Todd Wathen contacted TimberCreek via email in 2011 to inquire whether or not the bed and breakfast would be able to host civil union ceremonies on site after Illinois approved the unions that year via the “Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act.” Owner Jim Walder replied to Wathen that the facility had no such plans, and allegedly advised Wathen that “homosexuality is immoral and unnatural” and that “it’s not too late to change your behavior.”
Three days later, Wathen filed a discrimination complaint with the Illinois Human Rights Commission. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois (ACLU) also became involved, seeking emotional damages for Wathen and his partner, Mark.
Michael Robinson, an administrative law judge appointed by the Commission ordered Walder in 2016 to pay $30,000 in damages to the men ($15,000 each), along with $50,000 in attorney’s feed and more than $1,200 in costs.
Robinson also mandated that Walder follow the Illinois Human Rights Act by not declining further events, and that he additionally host Wathen’s celebration at the bed and breakfast within one year. The two men held a ceremony in their own yard in 2011 after being declined and did not seek other facilities as alternatives.
Walder, however, filed an appeal after advising that he could not comply with the order because of his Christian faith. Commissioners Patricia Bakalis-Yadgir, Duke Alden, and Terry Cosgrove, who were all assigned to the case, soon issued an order stating that they had “declined further review” of a “recommended order and decision,” allowing Robinson’s order to stand.
The background of two of the three commissioners posed an issue as Cosgrove had been inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame, and had filed a discrimination case himself against a local bar. He also has lobbied for state laws about the matter.
Alden serves as chairman of Howard Brown Health, a health and social service organization for homosexual and “transgendered” persons. Additionally, he was part of a “Presidential Debate Viewing Party” for homosexuals in Chicago to “cheer on Hillary Clinton.”
“[A]ssigning two out of three commissioners who are either LGBT activists or openly gay to review our case is corrupt and indefensible,” Walder consequently told the Paxton Record. “[B]oth commissioners should have honorably recused themselves from the review.”
“This feels like blatant reverse discrimination against all business owners, Christian or otherwise, by the IHRC, which is supposed to be an unbiased, neutral party in resolving complaints,” he said. “It begs the question how this unelected commission’s rulings can ever be taken seriously again.”
Attorney General Madigan has now sued Walder for neither paying the damages or allowing the men to hold the ceremony on his property, as ordered by Robinson and upheld by the panel.
“My office is committed to holding businesses accountable if they refuse service to members of the public based on sexual orientation,” she said in a statement.
Walder says that homosexuals are more than welcome to visit his bed and breakfast, but he is not able to accommodate their ceremony due to his religious beliefs.
“None of this goes back to hate. None of this goes back to bigotry. None of this goes back to being homophobic. … All of this goes back to the Bible and how God sees homosexuality,” he said in 2016. “I don’t want to see someone not go to Heaven, because the opposite of that is unfathomable.”
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