Quinn Announces Electric Car Charging Station Initiative

By aaroncynic in News on Apr 3, 2012 8:40PM

In an effort to make Illinois “the greenest state in America,” Gov. Quinn announced last week the installation of over 280 charging stations for electric vehicles. The stations will be installed in mostly high traffic and dense residential areas, including 7-Eleven stores at Illinois Tollway Oases.

Already, four sites along the Illinois Tollway have the stations. The budget for the project is $8.8 million - $1.9 million of public funding and $6.9 million of private investment. The City is overseeing the project, which has purportedly created 18 jobs supporting 8,500 hours of labor.

Karen Weigert, Chief Sustainability Officer for the city said in a press release, “this project is an excellent example of Mayor Emanuel’s commitment to promoting sustainability throughout the city of Chicago, while maximizing the positive economic impacts and job creation of these efforts.”

The Chicago-Area EV Infrastructure Project is partly funded by the Illinois Jobs Now! Plan and funds from the Clean Cities Grant Chicago received via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.