I am a city girl through and through! I love that Chicago has initiatives to support natural and native landscapes that promote biodiversity. However we have some miscommunication on this in the city as it relates to "weeds" and the management of private lands. There is a weed ordinance that if found to be in violation will result in a property owner to be fined anywhere from minimum $600 upwards to $1200 plus $40 in court fees. I am a supporter of using policies to motivate homeowners to take care of their property however this ordinance is quite unreasonable. It states that any unmanaged vegetation and or presence of weeds in excess of 10 inches will result in a fine. Whats crazy is that we are the prairie state and most of our native plants are well over 10 inches.
There is nothing more insulting as a Chicagoan than to have the city kiss you and cut you at the same time. The city is actively promoting the planting of native landscaping but will also fine you for it. This was made clear when the award winning gardener Kathy Cummings was fined for her garden. When she went to court the judge pointed to a plant and asked her the name.....she replied "milkweed" he responded to her that "it has weed in the name" without any interest in understanding that the plant is native and an integral resource for pollinators especially the monarch butterfly. Which by the way numerous elementary schools and nature centers use as a model organism for city conservation. I'm baffled at the disinterest of our city to make sure that we are helping to create a conservation ethic that supports our local economy and environment but this is down right unfair and insulting.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has a list as we are well aware of that identifies the species that are truly weeds in our state yet the city makes no attempt to fine according to the ordinances set forth by IDNR. If its too tall your money will go short really quickly. For me I am incensed primarily because in parts of the city where property taxes are as low as $1000 this $600 fine can be devastating. The city does not pass out warnings and it does not consider the location of your property relative to income in the city. I am for generating revenue due to fly dumping and blatant disregard for your landscaping if it is truly unkempt. However, to push homeowners to plant only to charge them seems shady so no wonder why we call it Crook County!
I hope that we continue to communicate the importance of conservation to the public in ways that result in addressing inconsistencies such as this one and help create solutions that result in a healthy environment and fair policies furthermore I hope to approach city council to continue this conversation in a positive and supportive manner seeing as though the city is often in violation of their own ordinance as well as multiple utility companies that do not manage their natural areas up to the ordinance as it stands.
