Hinsdale 'In Lockstep' With Western Springs

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL — Hinsdale officials said Tuesday they were "in lockstep" with Western Springs in taking another measure to deal with the possibility of controversial 5G antennas.

At a meeting, the Village Board adopted a resolution to hold off on any proposals for 5G antennas while the state's pandemic orders are still in effect.

Residents in Hinsdale, Western Springs and Clarendon Hills have expressed opposition to 5G antennas, saying they are unsightly and would hurt their health.

Western Springs and Clarendon Hills recently enacted similar measures delaying 5G applications. Hinsdale has received no 5G proposals, while the other villages have.

At Tuesday's meeting, Hinsdale Village President Tom Cauley explained why he backed the resolution.

"There will be a lot of community angst when we get our first application," he said. "This is not the time for that. There's too much to do now to deal with that."

He also noted he had a conversation recently with Village President Alice Gallagher.

"We have been working hand in hand with Western Springs and Clarendon Hills to deal with the 5G issue," Cauley said. "I'd like to stay in lockstep with them as much as we can."

Trustee Luke Stifflear agreed.

"This puts us in lockstep with Western Springs," he said, adding the biggest reason he backed the resolution was the concern for staff time.

During the discussion, Trustee Neale Byrnes said the village was also now in lockstep with Western Springs on the proposed pedestrian bridge linking the towns over Interstate 294. "That's very good news," he said.

The villages had differed over the style of bridge, with Western Springs preferring a design that required less maintenance costs in the long run.

During a Hinsdale Village Board meeting in November, a state official said she had heard from Hinsdale village staff that the village may want to pick up at least some of Western Springs' costs for maintaining the more expensive picket-style fencing on the bridge.

Cauley, who leads the wealthier of the two towns, shot down the idea, saying, "We're not offering to pay anything more than half."

During the discussion, Cauley later made a request to the state official that indicated a lack of communication between top Hinsdale and Western Springs officials.

"I think you should tell the Western Springs president to give me a call if they want to know what our thought process is," Cauley said. "I would be happy to talk with her about it."

Late last month, Western Springs chose the picket-style fence after getting information from the state that it would cost far less than originally expected.