Cell Antennas To Be Installed On Tinley Park Poles, Village Not Happy

TINLEY PARK, IL — Tinley Park residents may soon notice additional devices on utility poles around the village, officials said. The small wireless cell devices are intended to improve connection in the area but some towns across the state opposed the measure.

The Illinois Small Wireless Facilities Deployment Act was passed in 2018 and requires all municipalities to accept applications from cell providers to attach wireless signal boosters to existing utility poles. While Tinley Park can charge an application fee for interested providers, the law prohibits municipalities from declining most.

The cell antennas are small — about a foot tall — and can only be installed on public poles, not private or company-owned property. According to the act, companies can install up to 25 of the antennas. Tinley Park chose AT&T and Verizon to install the antennas.

Other home rule communities in Illinois such as Homer Glen opposed the law, stating the law limits towns' authority to get zoning approval for the devices, though they will remain on existing poles.

"The Village has put the strictest regulations allowed in place to ensure these cell antennas blend in as much as possible and don’t detract from the community," officials said in a written statement.

A spokesperson for the village did not immediately respond to Patch's questions on what intersections the devices would be placed at.