Emerald ash borer discovered in Carol Stream

An emerald ash borer infestation has been discovered in several trees near a Carol Stream park.

At least four trees infested with the metallic green bugs were discovered earlier this week along the Klein Creek tributary near Volunteer Park, Carol Stream officials said.

The park is located near the Carol Stream Fire Protection District headquarters on Kuhn Road, just north of North Avenue.

The discovery of the tree-killing bugs isn't a surprise to village officials. Earlier this year, several infested trees were found in a shopping center in neighboring Glendale Heights.

Confirmed sightings have also been reported in some areas of Kane and northern Cook counties, including the campus of Fermilab in Batavia, as well as North suburban Wilmette, Winnetka and Evanston.

"This discovery sort of starts the ball rolling for us in that we now know where to look for the bug," said Al Turner, the village's public works director.

To date, the emerald ash borer has killed or damaged about 20 million ash trees across the country.

In July, Carol Stream agreed to start paying to plant saplings to replace sick or dying trees on public parkways - a cost normally deferred to homeowners - to stem the loss of treetops.

Village trustees also agreed to let public works crews remove sick or dying ash trees from the village's stock of parkway trees.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture placed a quarantine barring the removal of ash trees from 18 northern Illinois counties, including the entire Chicago region, to curb the spread of the emerald ash borer.