What’s your image of Hinsdale? I see a special place of tree-lined streets, manicured lawns, neighbors talking and children playing in the park. Unfortunately, we’ll soon need to add a 5G small cell tower to the background of these images.
Drive around town and you’ll notice small stakes with white flags in front of our homes, schools and parks. These are the potential sites for Verizon’s 5G small cell towers. They will be placed roughly every 200 feet throughout the village. Don’t see any near your home? Don’t worry, AT&T and Sprint will soon follow with their own. Hinsdale is on the verge of being proliferated with more than 100 new 5G small cell towers.
The FCC and the Illinois legislature have granted the wireless companies virtually unchecked control over the placement and proliferation of their small cell equipment. Wireless providers are not public utilities and are not providing essential services to the community-at-large. Rather, they are for-profit corporations seeking to maximize their profits and competitive advantage. The wireless companies will place their small cell towers with no concern for our property values or our community’s long-term health.
I encourage everyone to learn more about the 5G small cell rollout. Most importantly, I encourage everyone to contact our state and federally elected officials to demand answers and change. — Adam Runyan, Hinsdale
