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On the Frontlines
On the frontlines
How Hinsdale became one of the primary battlegrounds for a nationwide tussle over wireless technology and local controls
BY MIKE ELLIS
Technological enhancements are proceeding rapidly, but the latest wave of wireless technology is not being embraced with open arms by all.
Mobile fifth-generation (5G) technology is the newest advancement in wireless connectivity, which will require the construction of “small cell” wireless facilities in order to be deployed.
On Dec. 6, T-Mobile unveiled the first nationwide 5G network, which, according to its website, is available in a number of places across the United States, including in some of its foremost metropolitan areas such as Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Houston, Phoenix and Dallas.
T-Mobile claims that this network will allow “200 million Americans” to access 5G technology.
In addition to large telecom carriers, 5G technology also has the strong backing of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
FCC chairman Ajit Pai, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in May 2012, and continued in his position when President Donald Trump assumed office in January 2017, is a proponent of the new technology, and has developed a plan to ensure that the United States is at the forefront of its outgrowth.
An attorney by trade, Pai has previous experience in the telecommunications industry, serving as associate general counsel for Verizon from 2001 to 2003. He also has extensive experience in Washington, functioning as counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Senate judiciary committee and the FCC.
“One of the FCC’s top priorities is to ensure that the United States leads the world in wireless innovation,” Pai said in an FCC online video. ... “5G will be much faster speeds and much lower latency—that is, less lag time for the network to respond when you click on the link. In short, 5G will help enable cutting-edge applications like high-definition ‘telehealth,’ virtual reality, the internet of things and other novel ideas we can’t conceive today.”
Under Pai’s leadership, the FCC is pursuing a comprehensive strategy to “facilitate America’s superiority in 5G technology (FAST)."
His strategy is predicated on three components:
“Pushing more spectrum into the marketplace;“Updating infrastructure policy;” and“Modernizing outdated regulations.”
“The FCC is moving forward aggressively on all fronts,” Pai said in the video.
According to Pai, 5G technology will push nearly 5GHz of spectrum into the commercial marketplace, which represents “more spectrum than is currently used by all mobile broadband providers combined.”
He said 5G networks will rely on “much smaller, more densely-packed infrastructure operating at lower power,” or “small cells.”
“We’ve seen wireless phones morph from voice-only devices to become connected computers over the past few years,” Pai said. “In the next few years, we’ll see even more dramatic changes and advances in technology thanks to 5G. We want the United States to be at the forefront of this innovation, and that’s why the FCC is doing everything it can to encourage 5G.”
The Illinois General Assembly has done its part to facilitate the deployment of 5G locally, approving legislation in April 2018 to permit the construction of small cells.
According to Western Springs village attorney Michael Jurusik, the small cell antennae or towers will be positioned at a height of roughly 35 feet on average, and separated by approximately 500 feet.
Hinsdale has been selected as a pilot to roll out 5G in Illinois, along with neighboring Western Springs, as well as Naperville and Schaumburg.
Hinsdale village trustee Luke Stifflear said last spring, Verizon approached the village, conveying an interest in installing from 130 to 140 5G antennae in Hinsdale.
Some local residents believe that both the quality and quantity of antennae will be aesthetically displeasing, while also posing significant health risks to the general population.
Stop 5G Hinsdale & Neighbors is a grassroots organization that was started to oppose the proliferation of the new wireless technology in the village and surrounding communities. Its Facebook page was launched in October 2019, and has garnered more than 1,000 followers in less than three months.
The organization has hosted informational sessions at the Hinsdale Public Library and at the Thomas Ford Memorial Library in Western Springs, while also coordinating a public protest outside the Verizon store on First Street in downtown Hinsdale.
“Illinois passed a law that took away our local rights to regulate the implementation of 5G,” said Christine Trainer of Hinsdale, one of the leaders of Stop 5G Hinsdale & Neighbors. “We want that law...reversed, and power [given] back to our local municipalities. We also demand a resolution that stops 5G deployment until independent scientific evidence conclusively establishes that 5G poses no harm to humans.”
At its presentation at the Hinsdale Public Library on Nov. 19, Stop 5G Hinsdale & Neighbors welcomed Stifflear, who specifically addressed the aesthetics concerns and the village’s limited regulatory power over the matter.
“I’m sure you guys have thought about, outside of your home, [if] you’ve got a 30-foot pole with a small refrigerated antenna, that does not help home values—that does not help the character of our village,” he said. “That is where the village is primarily concerned right now, and we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that any type of implementation of 5G that we’re forced to [adopt] is as aesthetically pleasing as it can [be] for the character of Hinsdale.”
Stifflear said the village has adopted “very strict” aesthetic guidelines relative to 5G equipment installation, which include prohibiting the placement of antennae within 200 feet of a home, as well as stipulating that everything but the antennae must be buried underground.
“We’re continually trying to upgrade those aesthetic guidelines in order to make sure it’s [the] least intrusive as possible,” he said.
—PAIGE GLENDINNING OF HINSDALE
According to Stifflear, the village’s hands are currently being tied by the aforementioned April 2018 act passed by the Illinois General Assembly, which stipulated that “in the public right of way, villages lose their zoning authority.”
“The State of Illinois really handcuffed us, and they took away that local governing authority,” he said. “I personally think the first stage that we can change...is to go back to your state representatives and say, ‘We want to give local politicians, municipalities—give them back the right to govern their town.’ Springfield should not be governing how the Village of Hinsdale looks.”
At a Western Springs village board meeting on Oct. 14, Jurusik said municipalities are further bound by the Federal Communications Act of 1934, (most recently revised in 1996,) which stipulates that neither states nor municipalities may regulate on the basis of environmental concerns, provided the carriers comply with federal environmental standards.
Western Springs community development director Martin Scott, who addressed attendees at the Stop 5G Hinsdale & Neighbors informational session at the Thomas Ford Memorial Library, said the federal and state handcuffing is “very unusual for us.”
“Typically, the federal government and the state government will stay away from us when it comes to regulation, except maybe for floodplain or for certain types of very toxic pollution,” Scott said. “When it comes to zoning and the physical environment, usually, it’s left to us.”
Paige Glendinning of Hinsdale, a member of the Stop 5G Hinsdale & Neighbors task force, said she believes these regulations were originally crafted with “good intentions,” but they have since been twisted to advance more nefarious ends.
Stifflear also addressed the matter of Verizon’s interest in installing antennae in Hinsdale.
“The way that the federal rules work for that is, once they put a formal application, we have what’s referred to as a ‘shot clock,’” he said. “It’s basically within 90 days, we have to accept or reject that application, and if we don’t act on it, it’s automatically accepted.”
Stifflear said Verizon has not submitted a formal application at this time—which would be posted on the village’s website upon submission—but he fully expects to see one at some point.
“We could receive an application tomorrow; it could be three to four months, five to six months,” he said.
Representatives from Stop 5G Hinsdale & Neighbors also shared safety concerns relative to the new wireless technology, showing a video featuring Frank Clegg, former president of Microsoft Canada, in which he expressed his reservations.
“In my career, I’ve seen the tremendous benefit that technology can provide,” Clegg said in the video. “I’ve also seen the potential harm when technology is not implemented correctly—and I believe our current implementation of wireless technology is not safe. ... The more research I do, the more experts I talk to, the more concerned I become.”
According to Clegg, more than 230 scientists and researchers from 41 countries have formally written to the United Nations, their member nations and the World Health Organization, expressing their concerns regarding 5G, “especially for vulnerable populations such as children, pregnant women and the environmentally-sensitive.”
Moved by the presentation she witnessed at the Hinsdale library, Pam Conlon of Western Springs entreated the leaders of Stop 5G Hinsdale & Neighbors to conduct a similar informational session at the Thomas Ford Memorial Library on Dec. 3.
Local residents stand outside the Hinsdale Verizon store protesting against 5G antennae being built in Hinsdale.
“I was just appalled and shocked by all the things I learned there,” Conlon said, “and I realized that so many people had no idea about this rollout and what it means for the western suburbs.”
At this meeting, Trainer said the Telecommunications Act of 1996—the act by which the federal government regulates the telecom sector—is woefully outdated, as it is based on 2G technology, which was first implemented in 1991, and includes voice-call, voicemail and text-messaging capabilities.
“5G is not just an incremental uptick like 1G to 2G was,” she said.
Unlike in Hinsdale, Scott explained that his village is unsure as to how many antennae to anticipate at present, describing the current situation as “fluid.”
“Some providers haven’t come forward at all,” he said. “Some, we’re expecting to be represented by outside agents that will come forward.”
Both Hinsdale and Western Springs have communicated the concerns of their residents to state and federal officials.
On Oct. 24, Western Springs village president Alice Gallagher wrote letters to the 12 sponsors of the Illinois legislation.
“Residents have expressed fundamental concerns with the way in which this technology may impact health and well-being, in addition to the physical installation of the equipment in our community,” Gallagher wrote in the letter.
Gallagher further requested that the sponsors amend the bill, so that “municipalities have the authority to require small-cell wireless equipment be placed in our community in such a manner that maximizes safety, and minimizes the appearance of the antennae systems required to support this technology.”
In November, Hinsdale village president Tom Cauley addressed similar letters to Illinois sponsors requesting the restoration of municipal controls.
Cauley also requested that the DuPage Mayors and Managers Conference (DMMC) adopt a position on 5G wireless technology. According to Marla Mangone of Hinsdale, a Stop 5G Hinsdale & Neighbors task force member, if the DMMC were to take a formal stance against 5G, this would enable lobbyists to descend on Springfield opposing the current of telecom lobbyists acting on behalf of the new technology.
These local villages are not the only municipalities seeking to reclaim regulatory authority over small cell towers. A number of municipalities nationwide have filed a series of class-action lawsuits against the FCC for this very purpose.
The pressure being applied by local governments is beginning to garner traction at the state and federal levels as well.
On Nov. 12, state Sen. Suzy Glowiak, D-Western Springs, announced that she plans to establish a task force concerning the implementation of 5G. A representative from Rep. Deanne Mazzochi’s, (R-Elmhurst,) office said they have attended both local informational sessions in Hinsdale and Western Springs, and are engaged in community concerns regarding the new wireless technology.
U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Illinois, has written to Pai expressing his reservations over 5G.
And U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, has introduced legislation to restore local control over public infrastructure, which is being sponsored by fellow Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois.
On a local level, Trainer posted on Facebook that the Stop 5G Hinsdale & Neighbors task force is planning a trip to Springfield in the near future.
“If you can’t protect yourself or raise any kind of concern about health on a technology that’s going to be in your frontyard,” Glendinning said, “that should be a red flag.”■
