In a contentious City Council meeting, aldermen voted 7-1 recently to accept Ameritech New Media Inc. as a competitor of TCI of Illinois for cable television service in Des Plaines.
During the five-hour Monday night meeting, aldermen overturned a recommendation by the Des Plaines Cable Commission to reject Ameritech’s bid.
Ald. Carla Brookman, who cast the only vote against the 15-year pact, supported efforts of Des Plaines and other suburbs to form a consortium with Chicago to wrest larger concessions from Ameritech. Brookman also said Ameritech should return a cut of its advertising revenue to the city.
“Currently, Ameritech controls the bargaining process,” she said Monday night.
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But residents who spoke out strongly supported Ameritech’s bid, which included several last-minute concessions, including an agreement to staff a telephone complaint line at all hours with operators rather than pre-recorded messages, said Ald. Jean Higgason.
Competition among cable providers is clearly needed in Des Plaines, said Mayor Paul Jung. In a recent conversation with a cable television consultant, Jung said he was told that “this is about the best deal we’re going to get.”
Jung said his frustrations with TCI’s cable service have forced him to create a speed-dial button for the company’s help-line at his own home.
“I could present Ameritech with the nine problems cited by the cable commission,” Jung said, “but the down side is that they will tell us `goodbye,’ and we will be stuck with one provider and no competition.”
Higgason said the agreement, which would affect at least 10,000 cable customers, “was a valiant effort in negotiation from every side.”