Two weeks after a powerful line of storms tore through Chicago, a massive fallen tree is still sprawled across a Bronzeville alley near 43rd and Cottage Grove, leaning on a garage and clogging the narrow lane with limbs and broken poles. Neighbors say the mess has turned into a full-blown headache, with tangled utility and internet lines, a heap of branches, and overflowing dumpsters blocking garbage trucks and sending loose trash skittering through the alley. One resident says the tree crushed cars inside a garage and knocked out power for some neighbors for about a week.
Latonercus Steen told CBS Chicago the tree “took out the poles” and damaged service lines when it came down. Another neighbor, Lindsay Leverson, told the station her cars were crushed in the garage. Leverson said when she called 311, she was told it could take up to 56 days for the city to haul the tree away, a wait she flatly called unacceptable. According to CBS Chicago, reporters reached out to 4th Ward Ald. Lamont Robinson’s office about the situation, and had not received a response.
Storm left a citywide cleanup backlog
A WBEZ analysis found that in the week after the storms, Chicago logged more than 20,000 weather-related 311 complaints, with tree issues making up the overwhelming majority and putting heavy pressure on cleanup crews. FOX 32 Chicago reported wind gusts topping 70 mph when the system roared through and noted that the Department of Streets and Sanitation recorded thousands of “tree emergency” requests. Officials told WBEZ that crews are prioritizing blocked roadways and sidewalks first, which can leave alley and residential tree removals sitting in the queue.
Neighbors say alderman’s office has been silent
Residents told CBS Chicago they have heard little to nothing from the 4th Ward office about when the tree and debris will finally be cleared. “It’s been crickets from my alderman’s office,” Leverson said, adding that even a clear timeline would go a long way toward easing safety worries. For now, neighbors say they are stuck with a hazardous tangle of limbs, dangling lines, and trash piling up where their alley used to be.
What neighbors want next
Residents say it is time for the city to move beyond initial storm triage and send a crew to cut up the tree, clear the alley, and make it safe for utility repairs and regular garbage pickup. Many neighbors say they understand that city crews have to tackle blocked streets and sidewalks first, but they want firmer timelines after hearing the removal could take weeks. Neighborhood leaders say the drawn-out cleanup in Bronzeville highlights long-running frustration over how quickly storm damage is addressed on the South Side.
