Jeremiah Lee, a Hanover Park resident, told the Village Board on April 3 that public works crews felled a tree outside his home at 877 Durham Court the same morning without prior notice and asked the village to replace it.

Lee said the tree — which he described to trustees as “a nearly 50 year old tree” that provided shade and contributed to the identity of his cul-de-sac — was cut down in a matter of hours. He asked the village to rectify the loss by planting a new tree and addressing remaining debris and the stump.

The concern came during the board’s town-hall public-comment period. Mayor Rodney Craig apologized for the communication lapse and directed Lee to meet with the village’s public works director, identified in the meeting as TJ, for follow-up.

TJ told the board that the village maintains a program to replace trees and that removed-tree locations are added to a list for future planting. He said replacement timing depends on multiple factors (parkway openness, how long the stump has been ground out and other operational considerations) and that while he could not guarantee the tree would be replaced this year, “there will be a new tree there.”

On the immediate next steps, TJ said the village plans to grind the stump and that crews would likely perform stump grinding across town when they have a crew and suitable weather. He told Lee that grinding would probably occur “within the next month or so,” subject to weather and scheduling.

TJ said most village removals are for one of four reasons — “dead, dying, diseased, or dangerous” — and that many removals are emergency actions when crews discover a hazardous condition (for example, a tree hollow at the base).

Mayor Craig and other trustees expressed regret that Lee had not received prior notice and apologized for the impact on his family and neighborhood. Officials invited Lee to follow up with TJ to choose a replacement species and to arrange for cleanup of debris and stump removal.

The board did not vote or adopt new policy during the discussion; officials described existing tree-removal and replacement procedures and committed to follow-up with the resident.

Lee's remarks and the public-works responses underline the village's policy posture: emergency removals proceed without prior notice when a tree is deemed hazardous, and replacement occurs later through the village's scheduled tree-replacement program.