What the City said it is doing
On May 13, 2025, the City announced that field work had started on a City-Wide Tree Inventory. Great Lakes Urban Forestry does the work. The crews collect data on every tree located within the City right-of-way. The City says that data will help it build an Urban Forestry Management Plan and prioritize and schedule future tree maintenance. Work started on the East Side and was to run through the year (City of Joliet; Shaw Local).
That fits what the Council did just before. In late March 2025 it approved funding to supplement a grant for the inventory, and the Tree Advisory Board chair said an inventory and management plan would be a step toward a better urban forest (City of Joliet).
Where it came from: the West Side count
This was not Joliet’s first count. Shaw Local reported in June 2024 that the City had used an earlier grant to survey a West Side area running between Jefferson Street and Black Road and between Larkin Avenue and Center Street. That survey counted 6,000 trees, and the numbers went into the City’s Urban Forestry Management Plan (Shaw Local). The Cathedral Area was inventoried before that, and the 2024 grant, awarded through the Morton Arboretum, was meant to take the work citywide. Public Works Director Greg Ruddy told the Council, “This is citywide” (same article). Our Cathedral Area tree guide covers that neighborhood.
Still going in 2026
A City bulletin from August 3, 2026 says the City is conducting a comprehensive inventory of trees in public spaces throughout Joliet, including century-old oak trees. The inventory is being completed through a grant administered by the Chicago Region Trees Initiative with The Morton Arboretum. The City says it will help guide future preservation, maintenance and planting (City of Joliet bulletin). The same bulletin announced a free Tree Walk at Route 66 Park on August 19, 2026, hosted by the Tree Advisory Board.
What it means for the tree by your curb
- It covers City trees, not your yard. The inventory is of trees in the City right-of-way and public spaces. The City says it does not remove trees on private property or in alleys (Joliet Forestry). A tree in your own yard is not on the City’s list.
- Being counted is not being marked. The City’s marking system is separate. A painted number means a parkway tree is on the removal list, and the Forestry page says removal may not happen for five to seven years after marking (same page). Our parkway tree rules page explains the paint.
- A dead parkway tree is still a phone call. Dead or dying trees in the City parkway are the City’s to remove. Report them to the Roadways Division at 815-724-3650 (same page). Don’t wait for a crew to reach your street.
- Planting a parkway tree is tracked. Forestry says a permit is required to plant a parkway tree, which lets the department keep an inventory of species and other data (same page).
What we did not find
The pages above describe the count and its purpose. They do not publish street-by-street results or a maintenance calendar, so none is shown here. For a specific parkway tree, the Forestry page lists the Roadways Division at 1203 Cedarwood Drive and 815-724-3650, open 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (Joliet Forestry).
If the tree is yours
For a tree on your lot, see tree removal in Joliet. Before anyone digs, call J.U.L.I.E. at 811. If limbs are near power lines, the City points residents to ComEd at 800-334-7661 (same page). Who owns a tree can also depend on whether your street is City or Township; our Joliet Township vs. City trees guide sorts that out.
Sources
Checked Nov. 13, 2026. If a City rule has changed since, the City’s page wins.
- City of Joliet: City-Wide Tree Inventory (May 13, 2025)
- Shaw Local: Joliet taking citywide inventory of trees (May 17, 2025)
- Shaw Local: Joliet gets grant from Morton Arboretum to widen city tree inventory (June 10, 2024)
- City of Joliet: City Celebrates Arbor Day (April 21, 2025)
- City of Joliet: Free Tree Walk at Route 66 Park (Aug. 3, 2026)
- City of Joliet Forestry Division