Revised cell phone tower for Wheeling High School approved

Originally, the plan was to install a flagpole that would double as a cell phone antenna on the north end of the Wheeling High School football field.

After several Wheeling plan commission meetings and input from neighbors who live near the field, that plan has changed, said Wheeling Planner Andrew Jennings.

The pole won't have flags and it will be located on the east side of the field, he said.

"There was a compromise on the location," he said. "Residents were also concerned that the flag's hardware would be too noisy."

Some residents live within 400 feet of the football field, Jennings said. The pole will be about 100 feet tall.

The Wheeling Plan Commission approved the new pole and its location on Thursday night. The village board is expected to give its final approval in March.

In October, the Northwest Suburban High School District 214 school board approved new flagpoles for Wheeling and Elk Grove High schools that will double as moneymakers. The contract gave Verizon Wireless permission to put up large flagpoles with cell phone antennas inside them.

Verizon will pay District 214 a one-time setup fee of $30,000 for each flagpole, plus $2,500 a month rent at each school, with an annual rent increase of 3 percent.

The deal is expected to generate more than $1.5 million for the district over 25 years.

Clearwire Communications and T-Mobile have approached the district for a similar deal at Prospect High School that could generate a similar amount of revenue.

The Verizon deal allows the district to opt out after 10 years, while the communications company could back out after five years.