Elk Grove to get $1M worth of new trees

Elk Grove Village will spend more than $1 million over the next five years to replace trees on its parkways that have fallen victim to the emerald ash borer.

Some 2,050 trees have been replanted in village parkways to date, with another 2,750 expected by the end of 2020.

That's 650 new trees coming this year and in each of the next two years, then 450 in 2019 and 350 to round out the program in 2020.

An agreement the village board unanimously approved Tuesday night with St. Aubin Nursery adds 600 trees to the replacement schedule than what was originally anticipated. The deal also establishes set prices for harvesting the 4-inch diameter trees from the nursery in Kirkland, DeKalb County, and replanting them in Elk Grove.

Not only are trees infected by the emerald ash borer being replaced, but also silver maple trees nearly 60 years old on the east side of town, according to Mayor Craig Johnson.

The new trees include a mix of oak, maple, linden, pear, locust and elm. Most trees average six to seven feet tall.

In total, the village will pay $1,096,253 for the new trees - money that will come from the village's recycling fund, which has paid expenditures related to its response to the emerald ash borer.

Elk Grove has spent about $3 million to take down old trees and plant new ones. By the end of the replacement program, the total cost will be approximately $4 million, officials said.

Village officials say St. Aubin has provided an excellent nursery stock since the tree replacement program started in 2007. St. Aubin provides a two-year warranty on each tree.

The invasive pest, a 1/2-inch long green beetle, was discovered in Illinois near Lily Lake in Kane County in 2006, and originally detected in the United States near Detroit in 2002. Since then, it's been blamed for destroying more than 250 million ash trees nationwide, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture.