GENEVA, Ill., July 18 (UPI) -- Northern Illinois residents are asking who will foot the bill for the state's planned battle to control and eradicate the tree-killing emerald ash borer.
Experts say a proposal by the Illinois Department of Agriculture to quarantine a more than 7-mile wide area of Kane County may cost homeowners and communities millions to remove infected ash trees. About 20 percent of the trees in northern Illinois towns are old ash trees.
The half-inch-long metallic green insect has destroyed about 20 million ash trees in the Midwest and Canada and was first detected in Illinois on June 8.
A second infestation was found in Winnetka, north of Chicago, July 12.
State officials are urging patience as a proposed nuisance declaration and 51-square-mile quarantine zone were being developed, the Chicago Tribune reported.
State, federal and local officials this month declared victory over the invasive Asian longhorn beetle after an eight-year, $75 million campaign against the tree-killing pest in the Chicago area.
