Morton Grove Action Party Trustee Thill has responded to residents who have indicated they don’t want a tree in their parkway. He pointed out that the parkways are village property and he did not feel homeowners should have a choice in the matter.
Evidently, Trustee Thill has no regard for the rights of homeowners. Years back, I served on the Morton Grove Tree Commission where there were various discussions about what kinds of trees would be allowed and preserved on resident property.
Ultimately, an agreement was reached about replacing valuable trees. However, there was no discussion about forcing residents to accept trees on their parkways.
The village has a 50/50 plan, whereby residents can select a tree of their choice and pay for half of it. Does Trustee Thill expect residents to pay for half a tree they don’t want?
It would be different if the village were to maintain the trees they plant in the parkways. As it turns out, there is almost no follow up on many of these parkway plantings, so either the resident is forced to maintain them by watering, weeding and pruning, or the trees just die. I have seen several in my neighborhood die repeatedly in the same spot because nobody was taking care of them. Perhaps, these residents do not want the added responsibility of maintaining these trees. Also, they may not want an encumbered view of the street.
The village wants to plant 300 trees this year. Hopefully, they will not force them on residents who don’t want them.
Sherwin Dubren, Morton Grove resident