CHICAGO — In 2004, Jackie McKethen, a transgender woman, walked into a Springfield bar, ordered a drink and struck up a conversation with the man sitting next to her.
When she ordered her second drink, McKethen, of Crete, said the bartender told her he couldn't serve her. When she asked why, she said the bartender told her that another man, who had moved to the other end of the bar after she started talking to the man next to her, expressed concern.
“He said ‘There’s a gentleman at the other end of the bar that doesn’t want to encourage you to stay,’” McKethen said.
