Land Clearing in Cook County, IL

Cook County is made up of Chicago, more than a hundred suburbs and pockets of unincorporated land. The county's own tree rules only apply in the unincorporated areas. Inside Chicago, the Department of Streets and Sanitation's Bureau of Forestry owns and maintains parkway trees; inside a suburb like Oak Park, Evanston or Skokie, that village or city sets its own permit requirements, which are often stricter than the county's.

The county's Tree Preservation, Landscaping and Screening Ordinance (Chapter 126) requires a Tree Removal Application to the Department of Building and Zoning before removing trees on unimproved or partially improved land in unincorporated areas. It covers deciduous trees with a trunk diameter over 6 inches, measured 6 inches above the ground, and evergreens 10 feet or taller.

The Forest Preserves of Cook County manage more than 70,000 acres of woods, prairies and wetlands, and many suburban backyards border them. Trees on preserve land belong to the Forest Preserves, even when they lean over your fence. Don't cut or remove them; report a hazardous preserve tree to the Forest Preserves. You can generally trim branches that cross onto your property, as long as you don't damage the tree.

Chapter 126: Tree Preservation, Landscaping and Screening (unincorporated areas)

Deciduous trees over 6 in. trunk diameter; evergreens 10 ft or taller, on unimproved or partly improved land