Chicago received 9,000 reports of tree emergencies following July’s tornadoes, and a whopping 6,500 of those involved entire trees felled.

Chicago has touted the tens of thousands of trees it’s planted in recent years. But the city’s volunteer TreeKeepers say too many saplings die for lack of a maintenance plan.

The board will help ensure the growth, maintenance and health of Chicago’s tree canopy for generations to come, officials said. The group’s first meeting could come as early as February.

The six recommended appointees to the board, which was created in June 2021, all received unanimous support during a key committee hearing. Next up is a full Chicago City Council vote.

During Thursday’s City Council meeting, alderpeople introduced a resolution calling for the Department of Streets and Sanitation to reinstate treatment of the city’s remaining parkway ash trees — numbering close to 50,000 — and also develop a systematic program for removing and replacing infested trees.

“Trees need care like streets need repairing,” said Malcolm Whiteside, deputy commissioner for Chicago’s Department of Forestry, who threw his support behind the creation of an Urban Forestry Advisory Board.