Carol Stream plans to cut down sickly trees

Carol Stream public works crews have begun removing sickly trees throughout the village in an effort to beautify its parkways.

Village Manager Joe Breinig said crews have taken down about 50 trees in the last month. Another 225 more will be removed by the end of the year.

About 150 trees will be planted in their place by the end of the year.

Trustees approved a contract last fall to purchase 2,000 trees to be planted over the next eight years. The $340,000 deal with St. Aubin Nursery in Woodstock came as village officials continue to monitor trees on village property for the presence of the emerald ash borer.

At least four trees infested with the metallic green tree-eating bugs were discovered in November along the Klein Creek tributary near Volunteer Park. A similar infestation was found in July in neighboring Glendale Heights.

While some of the trees to be removed in Carol Stream this year are ash trees, only sick or heavily damaged trees are being removed, Breinig said.

"It's not like this is an infestation where we're just clear-cutting a neighborhood," Breinig said.

In Carol Stream, there are about 7,000 trees in public parkways. Of those, 2,741 are ash trees.

A majority of the trees bought by the village will be planted during the last four years of the contract with the tree nursery.

"Our goal is to keep chipping away at it," Breinig said. "No pun intended."