312-747-2101 or
cityofchicago.org
around September 1 and April 1 each year the city’s Bureau of Forestry begins seasonal tree planting. With an annual budget of $3 million, the bureau estimates that it’ll plant about 6,000 trees a season–and if you’re a property owner you can request one or several for your parkway. The number of requests have gone up each year, from about 5,400 in 2004 to almost 9,000 in 2006. The bureau suggests that before you call you think about what kind of tree you want (Autumn Blaze maples and ornamental pear trees are two popular choices), survey the area for power and cable lines, and make sure there’s room for it to grow. Then just call 311 and tell them you want a new tree; you can expect a visit from the bureau to make sure your site is OK. Requests are filled first-come, first-served, but it shouldn’t be more than eight months before you get to the top of the list.