Street trees planted 40 years ago by resident are public property, subject to "hack job" by city; Oak Lawn, IL; 5/3/09

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Ray Kommenich Jr. was devastated to learn that village crews had trimmed two of the four Horse Chestnut trees his family planted outside his home 40-some years ago.
Kommenich, 45, said the trees - two in his yard, two in the parkway - formed a "beautiful canopy" over the sidewalk.
A few careful snips would have been fine, but he said the village did a "hack job" that killed the branches, which he thinks could one day kill the trees.
Heather Green, the village's forester, said Oak Lawn's contracted tree-trimmers may have been a little aggressive, but "we didn't hurt the tree."
Green said the trimming was part of a scheduled maintenance designed for safety on the sidewalks and roads.