Morton Grove, IL Tree Service
Morton Grove does not simply fine an unpermitted removal. Any tree service Morton Grove residents call should tell them that first. Section 12-11-7 doubles the replacement and fee-in-lieu requirements that would have applied anyway. The penalty lives inside the remedy rather than beside it. An unpermitted removal therefore costs roughly twice what a permitted one costs. Protection begins at twelve inches DBH.
Two Titles, Public Trees And Private
The village splits its rules across two titles. Title 7, Chapter 7-2 covers Tree Preservation on public ground. Section 7-2-3 is comprehensive: “No person shall plant, remove, trim, spray, or otherwise treat any tree on any Village owned property” without “written permission from the director of public works or his designee.” Trimming sits in that list on equal terms with removal.
Title 12, Chapter 12-11, “Landscaping and Trees,” handles private property. It is recent. Ordinance 24-28 created it in December 2024, and Ordinance 25-39 amended it in January 2026. Anything you heard a couple of years ago may no longer hold. Section 12-11-1 defines a “Protected Tree” this way: “Any tree located within or partially within a Covered Property with a diameter at breast height of twelve inches (12") or greater.” Note “partially within” — that language catches a trunk straddling a boundary. Section 12-11-7 requires a removal permit. Covered Property excludes municipal facilities and certain residential lots under half an acre. Check lot size before anything else.
On penalties, Section 7-2-13 applies the fines in Title 1 Chapter 4. It then adds “a tree replacement fee” equal to “the cost to purchase and install a tree of similar size, species, and quality.” The village prices replacement at what the tree would actually cost to buy, not at a token rate. Section 1-4-1 references $750.00. Separately, Section 4-5-4 hands maintenance to the adjoining owner. That covers “all trees and shrubs, planted and to be planted” on the abutting sidewalk and parkway.
Qualified contractor, as Section 7-2-4 defines it. That section requires contractors to meet “current business licensing requirements including meeting liability insurance and surety bond requirements.” For all work on public trees, it also requires that “a certified arborist is contributing to the performance of the work.” Chapter 4-8 sets the building contractor terms: a $10,000.00 bond with the Village as obligee. Public liability runs $300,000 per person and $1,000,000 for multiple, with $100,000 property damage. Workers’ compensation applies as well. The code does not say whether Chapter 4-8 formally captures tree and landscape contractors. We meet it regardless.
A Forest Preserve Through The Middle Of The Village
Morton Grove sits around a river corridor it does not own. The North Branch of the Chicago River runs through the middle of the village. Village documents put “land along both banks” within “Cook County Forest Preserve,” with “a large forest preserve located in the center of the Village.” Village trees do not stop at the preserve boundary. Seed, pests and shade cross it freely. So does wind. It funnels along the open corridor and hits the first rank of yard trees beyond it hardest.
Flooding is modest next to the neighbors: three single-family repetitive-loss properties, none severe. The trouble spots are specific. Sayer and Foster, Emerson and Capri, the Oak Park cul-de-sac, Dempster at Olcott and Harlem, and the ground around the forest preserve.
Village Forestry, And What A Tree Service Morton Grove Crew Covers
Forestry looks after “approximately 11,000 trees” on public parkways, unimproved alleys and municipal property. It “prunes all trees on a six-year schedule and by resident request,” and it runs a 50/50 Tree Planting Program at half price to residents. That cycle stops at the property line. Everything behind the fence is a tree service Morton Grove owners have to arrange themselves. If you are choosing what to put back, the Morton Arboretum is fifteen miles away and free with its advice.
George Fernald and Fred Bingham platted the first subdivision of 177 lots in 1891. Incorporation followed on 24 December 1895. The population went from 2,010 in 1940 to 20,533 by 1960. That post-war jump is the reason so much of the canopy is the same age. Landscape waste rules under Section 7-6-10 cap bundles at 50 pounds and four feet, with nothing over three inches diameter. The code says nothing about contractor-generated material, so ours goes with us.
What We Do In Morton Grove
- Removals permitted under 12-11-7, before the doubling provision can apply
- Pruning filling the gaps in the village’s six-year public cycle
- Stump grinding on lots backing onto the forest preserve
- Emergency and storm work along the river corridor
Storm damage. Keep everyone clear of anything on a wire. Call 911, then ComEd on 800-334-7661. Public Works on (847) 470-5235 handles village trees during hours. We cover the private side at any hour, and we prioritize by hazard.
Get A Tree Service Morton Grove Price
Two things to have ready: the diameter at breast height, and whether the lot is over half an acre. Between them, they decide whether Chapter 12-11 covers you. Estimates are free.
Call 708-424-5885. More in our Cook County coverage, plus Skokie and Glenview, Mount Prospect.
19253 South Blackhawk Parkway #80
Mokena, Illinois 60448
708-424-5885
Inquiries@protreeservice.com
Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week