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GENTEEL CHICAGO SUBURB RAGES OVER MR. T'S TREE MASSACRE

GENTEEL CHICAGO SUBURB RAGES OVER MR. T'S TREE MASSACRE
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May 30, 1987, Section 1, Page 8Buy Reprints
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In this wealthy old community, a bastion of gentility and reserve, the leading citizens would hardly be expected to greet Mohawk hair styles.

But in the case of Mr. T, the gruff, burly, television actor, it was not the way he trimmed his hair that sent this Chicago suburb into an uproar, but rather the way he trimmed his property.

In recent weeks, Mr. T, reportedly suffering from allergies, has already cut down more than a hundred of the oak trees on his English Tudor estate here, violating an unwritten code of esthetics in this picturesque town along the shore of Lake Michigan.

Angry residents here are calling it ''The Lake Forest Chain Saw Massacre.''

The telephones at City Hall have been ringing ceaselessly with complaints from neighbors. The local newspaper, The Lake Forest News/Voice, condemned Mr. T in an editorial last week for what it described as his ''arrogant, insensitive action.'' And an alderwoman, Mary Barb Johnson, has promised to draft an ordinance to prohibit any further ''outrageous destruction.'' Pride in 'Tree City, U.S.A.'

''We take great pride in our trees,'' Char Kreuz, the city's spokeswoman, said earlier this week. ''You can tell that by the name of our town.''

Indeed, Lake Forest has been recognized as ''Tree City, U.S.A.'' by the National Arbor Day Foundation for seven consecutive years. Lake Forest has a population of about 17,000, but more than four times that many trees, Mrs. Kreuz said.

''I understand he's a good man, a religious man,'' said William Knauz, a dealer in Mercedes-Benz and BMW automobiles here. ''But trees are sacred here. And when you rev up a chain saw, you do not endear yourself to many people here.''

This is not the first time that Mr. T, who moved into his seven-acre mansion last fall, has been at odds with the Lake Forest arbiters of taste and decorum. ''First he builds a stockade fence and paints it white - now this,'' said Lucille Biety. ''Oh, my goodness.'' Earlier Rebuff by Council

Admonished earlier this spring by the City Council for violating zoning codes, Mr. T had the fence sandblasted. He also halted plans to errect a large, iron 'T' sign at the entrance of his estate, once owned by Laurance Armour, the meat company founder.

This town of 15.4 square miles, with the average home valued at more than $250,000, is considered perhaps the most elegant suburb of Chicago. Strict rules control the size and shape of commercial signs. There is a fast-food restaurant here, but its understated sign is unlighted.

Mr. T, born Lawrence Tero in a Chicago public housing project, had been a popular figure around town, especially for his kindness and patience with the children who flocked to his estate hoping for a glimpse of the star from the television show, ''The A-Team.''

Mr. T, who manned a chain saw alongside other landscape workers here, has declined to be interviewed about his reasons for removing the trees. Actions Laid to Allergies

But residents in this turn-of-the-century neighborhood, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, said the actor has said that he suffers from allergies and thought removing the trees would help.

The neighbors noted, and allergists have confirmed, that Mr. T would need to chop down trees in all surrounding states to cure his allergies. They are especially piqued that Mr. T appears to be relishing the tree removal. ''He's smiling and laughing about all this,'' said one neighbor. ''He thinks it's a joke.''

Lake Forest prohibits the mass removal of trees on newly developed land, Mrs. Kreuz said, but can do little to protect trees on existing estates.

''If Mr. T doesn't like trees,'' asked Mrs. Biety, ''why didn't he build a house in the cornfields?''

Amid the criticism, a few residents have quietly spoken in defense of Mr. T's right to change his property. After all, they note, many fortunes here were built on the premise of the primacy of private property rights, to be protected against government intrusion. 'That's His Business'

''He paid all that money for his property,'' said Maryjane Grant, a college student here. ''If he wants to take the trees down, well that's his business.''

The City Council has asked its legal counsel to fashion an ordinance that would stop Mr. T's tree removal. But Thomas H. Compere, an attorney for the city, said research so far had turned up no ''anti-tree removal'' ordinances anywhere in Illinois.

''The fact is, it's really a moot matter,'' said Mr. Compere. ''Most of the trees are just stumps now. And by the time we could pass an ordinance, Mr. T will be finished with the job.''

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section 1, Page 8 of the National edition with the headline: GENTEEL CHICAGO SUBURB RAGES OVER MR. T'S TREE MASSACRE. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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