Tree-killing bug makes 1st appearance in Chicago

The emerald ash borer has made it to Chicago's State Street.

City foresters say the tree-killing beetle has been sighted for the first time in the urban area.

So far it's only along State between 29th and 30th streets. That's south of the city's downtown.

The announcement Thursday comes from the city's Bureau of Forestry. That agency takes care of the city's 500,000 parkway trees.

The metallic-green beetle is highly destructive and tough to fight. It feeds on ash trees, eventually killing them. Experts worry it could wipe out the country's ash trees.

The insect has been blamed for killing millions of trees in Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ontario in Canada.