Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Director John J. Kim has announced plans to spend more than $25 million on new EV charging infrastructure under the Driving a Cleaner Illinois program.
That $25.1 million of Illinois EPA money ($25,152,259.44, to be exact) is being awarded to 20 applicants, and will eventually fund 643 new Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) ports at 141 locations throughout the state. These awards come in addition to $12.6 million the Illinois EPA awarded in Volkswagen Settlement funding (read: Dieselgate penalties) for more than 300 new EV fast charging ports in 2023.
“Through these grants, Illinois will increase the number of fast charging ports by over 100 percent, resulting in nearly 1,000 more fast charging ports available for Illinois’ EV motorists and visitors,” said Director Kim. “This is significant progress in building out EV charging infrastructure throughout Illinois, with more opportunities on the way.”
The money is geared towards putting DCFC charging stations at publicly accessible locations like malls, grocery stores, gas stations, and hotels (etc.). Additional “points” (translation: funds) were awarded to projects in Equity Investment Eligible Communities.
“In Illinois, we’re strategically turning our vision for a clean energy future into a reality,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “Thanks to recent grant awards, my administration will double the number of publicly available fast charging ports — putting us one step closer to our goal of reaching 100% clean energy by 2050.”
The complete list of award winners is listed, below.
| Grantee | Award Amount | Location(s) of EV Chargers | Location Type |
| 3216N Inc | $320,000.00 | Elk Grove Village Stone Park |
Gas Stations |
| Adams Electric Cooperative | $277,814.00 | Quincy (2) | Community College Hotel |
| Amoco Food Shop Number 1 Inc | $320,000.00 | Chicago (2) | Gas Stations |
| BP Products North America Inc | $8,320,000.00 | Addison Aurora (2) Bellwood Bloomington Bolingbrook Chicago (2) Crystal Lake Des Plaines (2) Effingham (2) Elk Grove Village Glen Ellyn Hampshire Huntley Joliet (2) Kankakee Lake in the Hills Lombard McHenry Morris Mt. Vernon Naperville (2) Romeoville Round Lake Beach Round Lake Park Summit Third Lake Troy Volo West Chicago Woodridge Zion |
Gas Stations |
| Egyptian Electric Cooperative Association | $320,000.00 | Carbondale Carterville |
University Hotel |
| Gjovik Ford | $400,000.00 | Plano Sandwich |
Car Dealerships |
| GPM Investments LLC | $319,751.44 | Edgewood St. Elmo |
Gas Stations |
| ITSM Software Consultants Inc | $1,810,000.00 | Algonquin (2) Arlington Heights (2) Bridgeview Buffalo Grove Chicago Matteson North Chicago Roselle West Chicago (2) |
Shopping/Retail |
| Lanman Oil Company | $480,000.00 | Charleston Mattoon Tuscola |
Gas Stations |
| OBE Power Networks 1 LLC | $320,000.00 | Ottawa (2) | Parks/Recreation |
| OSF Healthcare System | $320,000.00 | Peoria (2) | Healthcare |
| Pilot Travel Centers LLC | $1,440,000.00 | Decatur Effingham Gilman Marion Marshall Oakwood Rochelle Vandalia Woodhull |
Gas Stations |
| PowerPort EVC LLC | $320,000.00 | Ashkum Bourbonnais |
Shopping/Recreation |
| Red E Charging LLC | $2,079,402.00 | Arcola Atlanta Bolingbrook Brimfield Chicago Fulton Loves Park Marion Peotone Richton Park Shorewood Villa Park Wilmette |
Gas Stations |
| Rivian Automotive LLC | $920,000.00 | Normal Oak Brook Springfield |
Shopping/Retail |
| Road Ranger LLC | $1,600,000.00 | Bourbonnais Dixon Grayville Marion Marshall McLean Minonk Princeton Rochelle Springfield |
Gas Stations |
| Shiner Management Group Inc | $320,000.00 | Gurnee Mundelein |
Shopping/Retail |
| Sustainable Energies Corporation | $1,760,000.00 | Country Club Hills East Peoria Glendale Grayslake Gurnee McHenry Melrose Park Moline Round Lake Beach Waukegan (2) |
Restaurants |
| Universal EV LLC | $2,945,292.00 | East Peoria (2) Princeton (2) Casey Sandoval Salem Granite City Peoria Decatur Ottawa (5) Gilman Marion Lincoln Hoffman Estates Chillicothe Elk Grove Village |
Hotels Shopping/Retail |
| Victory Lane Ford Inc | $560,000.00 | Carlinville Litchfield |
Car Dealerships |
| TOTAL | $25,152,259.44 | ||
Electrek’s Take
More EV charging infrastructure is undoubtedly a good thing, and these funds are going to help encourage business and public sector entities in the state to keep doing the right thing here and invest in the future of transportation.
It’s also worth noting that these Illinois EPA funds can “stack” with similar Make-Ready EV charging infrastructure rebate programs from ComEd, a utility company that provides service in northern Illinois. The first phase of the ComEd rebate program has a $77 million budget over two years.