Judge Orders Ill. County to Approve AT&T’s Wireless Communications Facility

U.S. District Judge Nancy Rosenstengel for Southern Illinois in East St. Louis, acting on the parties’ agreement, dismissed with prejudice the remaining counts of AT&T’s complaint against the Monroe County board of commissioners and board of zoning appeals that weren’t previously granted summary judgment in AT&T’s favor, said the judge’s signed dismissal order Monday (docket 3:20-cv-01327). AT&T sued the county to reverse what it alleged was the unlawful denial of its wireless communications facility site request. AT&T won summary judgment on two of the counts specifically focused on the board of commissioners' failure to comply with the timing requirements under the Illinois Counties Code and the Monroe County Code of Ordinances when it didn’t act on AT&T’s site request within 75 days (see 2310020011). With Rosenstengel’s dismissal of the remaining counts, AT&T’s application is deemed approved under Illinois law, said her order. The county is ordered “to authorize AT&T to install its proposed facility and to issue all other permits required for installation, operation, and maintenance of the facility,” it said.