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Public Works Department

For service call… 708-452-7055
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Director Of Public Works	BRENT LEDER
Superintendent of Streets	COREY BECK
Superintendent of Water	JOHN BJORVIK
Dept. Secretary	JUDI WASHBURN

For any requests, complaints or questions related to Public Works, residents can call the Public Works Yard at 452-7055. Judi our secretary, will be able to answer any questions pertaining to garbage pick-up, yard waste, recycling, street sweeping, snow removal, tree programs, and animal control. Complaints and requests are logged and given to crews to act upon. If you require a return a return telephone call, please leave the daytime telephone number where you can be reached. Water billing and Building Department questions should continue to go through the Village Office at 453-8000

New Ordinance Work on Village Right-Of-Ways
All work being done on streets, parkways or other Village property must obtain a permit from the Public Works Office. This permit may be reviewed, printed and filled out by downloading it here. Row Permit form

Verify Identification
If any stranger, claiming to work for the village, wants to enter your home or business, ALWAYS ask for identification. All village employees are issued a picture ID and will gladly present it when asked

Quick Links

BEWARE THE EMERALD ASH BORER
Emerald Ash Borer is an extremely damaging insect. If you see signs of them please contact our office

Waste Removal Information

River Grove Refuse-Recycling Program

E-Waste River Grove Solution

Animal Damage?

Click picture for more info & enlarged Photo

FAQ's

Garbage Disposal - All single-family residential homes are picked up every Monday by our contractor Strom. On Monday Holidays; Christmas Day, New Years Day, Memorial, July 4th & Labor Day pickup will be the day following.

Yard Waste Disposal - Begins on the first Monday in April and ends on the last Monday in November. Leaves cannot be raked into the street. (This law is enforced to keep our sewer lines clear). They have to be put into your yard waste cans designated with the “Red X”, biodegradable yard waste bags (no plastic bags) or you can drop them off at the Public Works Yard at 8300 Center Street, free of charge. The Yards will be open Saturdays and Sundays 8AM to 4PM from November 6th to December 4^th. Also, please put all garden waste (tomato vines, plants) into yard waste containers, not into piles on the ground.
Yard waste from River Grove homes would include grass clippings, leaves, small pruning debris, garden plants and flowers. Piles of yard waste, not in a container will not be picked up.
The only exception are tree branches that Public Works crews chip up. These branches must at least 3’ long. Root balls, branches under 3’, large plants (tomato and grape vines, sun flowers, etc.) have to be put in a yard waste container. These will not go through our chipper. Free wood chips for mulch are usually available, call the Public Works 452-7055 for information.

FYI

Your Landscaper – Your Problem
Don’t get dumped on by your landscaper! They are supposed to be taking all yard waste with them for disposal. They are not allowed to rake leaves or grass clippings into our streets, put any yard waste in your garbage can, or your red “X’d” yard waste can. It is the homeowner’s responsibility to make sure their contractor follows the rules.

Garage Sale
Who likes to see a garage or yard sale sign on a utility pole when the sale has been over for a month? If you place any of these signs on Village property (i.e. light poles, parkways, street signs, etc.) please make sure they are removed within 24 hours of the end of the sale. Fines may be issued for signs not removed in a timely manner.

Keeping a Cleaner Neighborhood
Just a reminder, residents who put their garbage out for curbside pickup must bring empty cans and recycling bins back onto their property with 12 hours of pickup. For residents who have alley pickup, only the brown 96 gallon can should be left in the alley. Yard waste cans and recycling bins must be brought back onto your property. This keeps the neighborhood cleaner and cans from being scattered or lost on windy days.

Recycling Bins
Do you have a lost or broken recycling bin? The Village has purchased new bins for replacements. Bins are available at the Public Works , and can be picked up during regular business hours. Only one bin per household please!

Public Sidewalk Replacement Program
Several years ago Public Works surveyed all public sidewalks in our town (over 34.65 miles of sidewalks) for defects. Since that time we have replaced over $200,000 of the worst public sidewalks. If your public sidewalk is raised from tree roots, severely cracked, or missing pieces please call Public Works. We will come out and inspect the sidewalk squares. If they fall within the parameters of the program the Village will replace defective squares at no cost to the owner of the property. As the budget for replacement is limited, only the worst sidewalks are done each year.

Parkway Trees
    In 1995 the Village Board re-wrote and passed an extensive ordinance on tree care. This law was passed as a long range plan to produce a first rate tree population not only for the enjoyment of our residents, but for the economic and environmental benefits they would provide. With this new ordinance and full support from the Board, our town has been awarded “Tree City USA” status every year since the ordinance was passed. We have also been awarded “Tree City USA Growth Awards” for programs our Beautification Committee and Public Works Department perform.
    As residents, there are a few things you can do to help in our efforts; Contact the Village for a permit if you plan on planting your own tree in the parkway so appropriate species and spacing requirements are met.
Please remember, no bushes, pine trees, plantings, or multi-trunk trees are allowed on parkways for security reasons.
   Trees planted by the Village have a 3 foot diameter of mulch around them. This mulch not only holds in moisture and blocks out weeds, it also keeps lawnmowers from contacting and ripping the bark which causes deformity or death to the tree. Lawn mowers, because of the damage they do, are the number one cause of tree death in the state of Illinois.
    For maintenance on parkway trees, please call the Public Works Department as our crews are trained in proper horticultural procedure.

Hazardous Material Disposal - Arrangements are being made now, by our municipal conference (West Central Municipal Conference) to arrange for home pick-up and disposal of hazardous household chemicals, for a slight fee. Information on this program should be available by the end of this year.

Street Sweeping - This season runs from April 1st to December 1st. Every side street has posted signs for the parking restriction for weekly sweeping. Please obey this ordinance, as it is enforced.

Snow Removal -Signs are posted on all side streets, “No Parking After 2” Snow Fall”. This is when our snow plowing operation goes into effect. Starting with the main streets, our crews will work their way onto your block, plowing the even address side first. We ask, that when the even address side is cleared to the curb, that you move your vehicle onto this side so that the odd address side of the street can be cleared. This ordinance will be enforced.

Tree Trimming & Removal - Call Public Works (452-7055) for requests for your parkway trees. Larger trees are attended to by our contractor in a timely manner. NOTE: The parkways are village property and by ordinance all tree work is completed by village forces. Please call the village office for a permit for any private work on our parkways. Due to liability and proper horticulture reasons, there are restrictions to the type of plant or tree allowed on the parkways.

Animal Traps - If you have uninvited critters, traps are available through the our Public Works Department should be able to assist.