Tree Risk Assessment in Illinois

Removing a tree from a private Illinois yard is governed by your city or village, not the state; most suburbs regulate parkway trees and leave backyard trees to the owner. In Chicago, parkway trees (between sidewalk and curb) are city trees. Residents request inspection, trimming or removal through 311, and the Bureau of Forestry decides whether a tree is removed.

Green and white ash: once common street trees; emerald ash borer has killed most untreated ash Silver maple: fast-growing and brittle; frequent storm and ice breakage Honeylocust: common replacement street tree; tough, but watch for weak crotches

Winter: Frozen ground protects lawns from equipment; good time for removals and oak pruning Spring: Avoid pruning oaks April–July (oak wilt is present in Illinois)

Present across the state; untreated ash decline within a few years and become brittle and hazardous once dead.

Long-lived summer windstorms, like August 2020's, break and uproot trees over wide areas in a single afternoon.

Freezing rain and early or late snow load limbs; silver maple, Callery pear and willows break first.