How to Find a Family-Owned Landscaping and Drainage Company on Chicago's North Shore

August 31, 2026

Finding a family-owned landscaping and drainage company on Chicago's North Shore starts with checking who founded the business, how long they've run it, and whether the same team handles both design and drainage engineering. Tommy Pollina Landscape Company was founded in 1982 by Joseph "Joe" Pollina and operates out of Mt. Prospect, handling landscape design and engineered drainage work across the North Shore suburbs.

Key Takeaways

• Joseph "Joe" Pollina founded Tommy Pollina Landscape Company in 1982 as a one-truck operation on Chicago's Northwest Side.
• Joe Pollina still serves as Director of Operations, and Daniel Katz holds the title of President.
• Tommy Pollina Landscape Company has completed more than 10,000 drainage installations using laser-guided grading and multiple collection points.
• Basement waterproofing work from Tommy Pollina carries a lifetime warranty on interior and exterior systems.

What Makes a Landscaping Company Truly Family-Owned?

A landscaping company is truly family-owned when the founder or their relatives still control daily operations decades after startup. Signs include continuous ownership since the founding date, a founder still holding an active title, direct employment of design and installation crews, and hands-on involvement in estimating and scheduling.

That last part matters more than people think. A company can be technically owned by a family and still run day to day by hired managers with no ties to the original founder. On the North Shore, where a lot of yards need real grading and drainage work before any planting happens, the difference shows up in how a project gets diagnosed. A founder who's spent decades reading Chicago clay soil brings a different level of judgment to a wet backyard than a rotating crew supervisor would.

Why Drainage Comes First on the North Shore

Chicago's North Shore sits on heavy clay soil that drains slowly, and a lot of the housing stock is decades old with municipal storm sewers built for a different era of rainfall. Grading and drainage work usually needs to happen before landscaping or hardscape installation goes in, not the other way around. Skip that step and a new patio or planting bed can end up sitting in standing water within a season.

The common fixes fall into a handful of categories: French drains that intercept water below grade, channel drains set into driveways and walkways, downspout connections that carry roof runoff away from the foundation, swales that reshape the yard's slope, and flow wells or river rock systems that disperse water in a controlled spot instead of let