WBEZ reports that Verizon Wireless has withdrawn its proposal to build a cell phone antenna atop Franklin Fine Arts Center, a Chicago Public School. The plan drew controversy when several parents at the school objected to it due to worries about the health of the students. The cell phone company and many scientists have said there is no evidence cell phone towers pose any danger. But other scientists have said it's too early to tell because the technology is still so new.
Verizon had planned to pay the school $24,000 a year for the placement. More than 100 Chicago Public Schools have cell antennas or towers on their buildings.
Given the state of the perennially cash-strapped Chicago Public Schools one has to wonder why these parents would so vociferously oppose the plan. One can also wonder how many of these parents, so concerned with students health and safety, routinely yak on cell phones while driving their SUVs with the kids in the back.
