Bloomington, IL Invasive Plant Rules: Tree-of-Heaven Removal (2026)

Bloomington City Code § 19-105(B)(3)(h), part of the City's Shade Tree Ordinance in Chapter 19, prohibits planting a specific list of species within a public right-of-way, and Ailanthus altissima, listed by its common name Tree of Heaven, is on that list alongside boxelder, silver maple, Russian olive, female ginkgo, honeylocust, sycamore, poplars, locust, sumac, willow, elms, pin oak, Osage orange, mountainash, birch, mulberry, alder, non-ornamental fruit trees, catalpa, junipers, pines, firs, spruces, Douglas fir, hemlocks, yews, and all scrub-type planting material. The prohibition sits inside § 19-105(B), the same permitting section that requires anyone planting in a public place, including street parkways, to first get a City Forester permit; the Forester will not approve a planting application proposing a banned species regardless of the applicant's stated planting method or soil preparation.

Because Tree of Heaven is an aggressive, fast-spreading invasive tree known for suckering and displacing native species, keeping it off the list of species the City itself allows along streets and in parks is the ordinance's only local tool for the species; the chapter does not maintain a separate invasive-species removal mandate for private land. Violating the planting prohibition, like any other violation of Chapter 19's Article I, is punishable under § 19-113 by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $100 for each offense, and the City Forester can also order removal of an unlawfully planted tree under the general authority of § 19-104.