Illinois to invest $18.4 million in charging infrastructure
After successfully fighting to restore funding that had been frozen by the Trump Administration, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and the Illinois Department of Transportation have announced that a grant worth $18.4 million will be assigned for the construction of 25 EV charging stations along interstate corridors.
No mention was made of the specific voltages that the charging stations will feature; however, at least some will be DC fast charging stations, as the governor’s website states: “Selected locations will have at least four DC fast charging ports, each of which can fully charge a typical EV from empty in less than 30 minutes.” Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher also specified: “We’re very pleased to get a Level 3 charger for the Springfield area for EV drivers along the I-55 corridor.”
The benefactors for the charging infrastructure construction funds were selected last year, before the Trump administration blocked the funds. The companies include automobile manufacturers, such as Tesla and Rivian, as well as charging infrastructure companies such as Electrify America, Universal EV, EVgo and Francis Energy Charging.
“Illinois has been at the forefront of building a clean energy economy that creates jobs and helps lower costs for consumers, and building electric vehicle chargers across the state has been core to that mission,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “I’m thankful for the quick action of our Attorney General in the fight to restore these funds that President Trump was unlawfully withholding.”
The funds were released following Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and 16 other attorneys general in suing the Federal Highway Administration in May. In June, a judge then ordered the administration to release funding, which is now being put to use.
This is not the first such investment in Illinois, as last year, for example, Governor Pritzker announced the first round of $25.3 million in NEVI awards, which resulted in the construction of 37 charging stations.
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