Electric vehicle charging stations will be installed in 273 new locations across Illinois thanks to a $14.9 million federal grant, officials announced Thursday.
The new sites will add a total of 845 publicly accessible chargers, including 36 fast-charging stations, through a competitive grant awarded to Illinois by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“As Illinois moves toward a clean energy future, it is imperative that no communities are left behind,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker said in a statement. “This investment from our partners at the federal level will ensure Illinois has the resources to make electric vehicles accessible to all our residents.”
The state currently has 1,249 public charging locations with a total of 3,278 ports, according to the latest tally by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Pritzker’s office said the new charging locations “aren’t locked in yet,” but 43% were earmarked for “disadvantaged community projects” and 63% percent were designated for “dense urban communities with a high percentage of multi-family housing,” including rural areas and small towns.
Expanding charging infrastructure is a foundation of Pritzker’s goal to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by the end of the decade.
As of mid-December, 91,451 EVs were registered statewide, including 24,978 in Cook County and 16,427 in Chicago, according to the Illinois Secretary of State’s office.
The state is eventually aiming to have a public charger available within every 50 miles along major highway corridors statewide.
“I’m glad that this funding will prioritize equity by helping make EV charging sites more accessible to all Illinoisans — no matter if they live in an urban area or a rural community,” Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth said in a statement along with fellow Sen. Dick Durbin, who called it “a key step in breaking down barriers to entry for disadvantaged communities.”
The state is still accepting applications through Jan. 31 for electric vehicle rebates of up to $4,000 per car or truck or $1,500 for a motorcycle — though the number of applications had already exceeded the allotted $12 million of allotted rebate funding by mid-November.
Low-income applicants will be prioritized in handing out the rebates, officials said.
