Many residents can’t recall what it was like to have only six or seven television channels. But, in 1971, cable television was just a future concept.

1971: Seven channels from which to choose

The first mention of cable television in Western Springs took place in 1971. That’s when Scientific Communications, Inc. made a presentation to the village board. But, unlike today’s cable, their proposal was heavy on educational programming. While nothing came of this, the village soon joined with neighboring towns to study this new cable television phenomenon.

By 1979, no fewer than seven companies were proposing to install cable in the west suburbs. As a result, a regional study was undertaken by these towns. However, due to the slow pace of the study and the public’s demand for improved programming, Western Springs (as well as Lyons, McCook, Hodgkins and Berwyn) elected to choose its own provider.

Burying first cable in Springdale

After narrowing the search to just two firms, Western Springs eventually chose Centel Cable as its provider. Under this proposal, residents would pay $6.50 per month for 19 channels of programming, or $8.00 monthly to include premium movie channels. Part of this proposal included Centel providing free studio facilities for locally produced programming. There was also the implicit promise that cable television would be commercial-free.

By 1981, Illinois Bell and Commonwealth Edison began preparing their utility poles for the installation of cable. And, in Springdale, where the utilities were buried, they began identifying their location so that the television cable could be buried without interfering with their services. Everything looked promising, with Centel predicting their cable service would be available in 1983.

In 1982, Centel opened an office in the Garden Market Shopping Center and by mid-year was burying cable in Springdale … some 9 miles of it! See photo.

Stringing new cable for television

In the older sections of the village, cable was installed on existing utility poles. See photo.

Unfortunately, lengthy bureaucratic delays were encountered before the village could be connected to Centel’s tower and satellite dish located in unincorporated Lyons Township.

After numerous village board and commission meetings, Centel went on the air in February 16, 1983. See photo.

First cable-equipped home in Western Springs

While cable rates stayed relatively low for the first few years, in 1984 a new federal law removed most rate jurisdiction from local municipalities. Suffice it to say that we’ll never see a $6.50 monthly cable bill again. In 1989, Centel sold its Illinois operations to Jones Intercable. They, in turn, were acquired by Comcast in 1999. In 2008, AT&T introduced its own cable television service.