Posted by James Reynolds on March 4, 2008, 8:39 am, in reply to "Re: Illinois Tree Licensing Act Discussion"
72.135.217.208
I agree with Larry and Hal's perspective. A new act/law without the teeth of enforcement isn't worth the paper it's printed on. The old Tree Expert exam administered by the Department of Registration and Education was a multi-part arduous all-day affair. As I recall it had at least a 40% failure rate - and that included applicants from the ranks of degreed foresters. I was among the fortunate to pass it first time around back in '75 - thanks to the old "bible" by P. P. Pirone and some great tutoring by Bill Weisgerber of Bartlett Tree (license 87-1100). As previously pointed out, the State did away with a number of other professional licensing standards at the same time as a cost cutting measure.
On another note, I want to congratulate Terry Cichocki, Northbrook's Tree Preservation Officer since 2000. Terry was just named to the newly created position of Village Forester! Terry is a credit to the profession.
Jim Reynolds
Director of Public Works (retired with 40-years service 5/31/07)
Northbrook, IL
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