This summer, our office has received a number of calls from constituents regarding erroneous ticketing for Wheel Tax violations in unincorporated Cook County, specifically tickets written to senior residents with valid stickers or to cars not registered to an address in unincorporated Cook. 

At Tuesday's County Board meeting, Commissioner Goslin proposed an amendment to the Wheel Tax Ordinance in order to resolve this recurring issue.  The amendment requires the Cook County Sheriff's Police to verify that a vehicle is registered to an address in unincorporated Cook County and verify that the sticker is not issued to a senior citizen.

This amendment was sent to the Finance Committee to give the Sheriff's Department an opportunity to assess what procedures could be changed to prevent ticketing in error. 

If you have received a ticket for a Wheel Tax Violation in error and need assistance getting the ticket dismissed, you can call our office at 312-603-4932 or e-mail us at commissioner.goslin@cookcountyil.gov. 

Home Occupation Requirments 

In the past few weeks, our office has received some concerned calls regarding radio-collared cats wandering into residential areas.  The Cook County Department of Animal Control is studying the movements of feral cats throughout the forest preserves and surrounding areas..   

This line of research has lead to a greater understanding of range size, transmission of disease between species, and the probable sources of zoonotic (animal to man) and wild animal to domestic animal diseases.  All wildlife research is performed with the highest ethical standards and are presented at international scientific forums such as Rabies In The Americas (RITA) and the International Wildlife Forum in Barcelona this year.

For more information regarding the purpose and parameters of the study from the Department of Animal Control, please visit our website.

The Forest Preserve District is currently marking trees for removal in the Skokie Division.  The Skokie Division is bordered by Beckwith Rd on the south and Lake-Cook Rd to the north, Hibbard to the east and Pfingsten to the west.  The vast majority of trees to be removed have been impacted by the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). 

The District has been monitoring the spread of EAB since it was first found in Detroit, Michigan in 2002.  The infestation in portions of the Forest Preserve District has reached the level where the District must take action to protect the users of the Preserves and the general public from potentially hazardous trees. 

Trees throughout the groves, bike trails and roadside will be marked with orange "X's" or "dots"   Tree removal is expected to begin this fall.

For more information on the Emerald Ash Borer, please visit the Illinois Department of Agriculture's website.