Lawsuit leads to release of federal funding for EV chargers in Illinois
[September 18, 2025]
By Ben Szalinski
SPRINGFIELD – Illinois will release a new round of federal funding to
build electric vehicle charging stations after the Trump administration
initially sought to withhold it.
The state on Wednesday announced plans to release $18 million it
received after successfully suing the Trump administration for
withholding the funds that Congress had already allocated.
The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by former President Joe
Biden contained $148 million for Illinois to build more EV charging
stations. The state received $25.3 million to build charging stations at
37 locations in 2024 as part of the first round of grant funding.
But the Federal Highway Administration withheld the second round earlier
this year after President Donald Trump signed an executive order
requiring federal agencies to pause funding for clean energy projects
appropriated in the Biden-era law.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and 16 other attorneys general
sued the Trump administration in May seeking the release of the funds.
The lawsuit argued it is illegal for the president to withhold funding
that has already been approved by Congress. A judge ruled in June that
the federal government must release the funds to Illinois and other
states that joined the lawsuit.
“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 states has been core to that
mission,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in a statement. “I’m thankful for the
quick action of our Attorney General in the fight to restore these funds
that President Trump was unlawfully withholding.”
[to top of second column]
|
An electric vehicle charging station pictured in Chicago. (Capitol
News Illinois file photo)
Pritzker’s office announced on Wednesday that Illinois will receive
$18.4 million this year as part of the second round of grant funding for
EV chargers. The money will fund 167 charging stations at 25 locations.
With the release and allocation of the federal funding, Illinois will
have received $43.8 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to
build 349 charging ports in 62 locations.
1 million electric vehicles
State officials said expanding charging locations will help the state
achieve its goal of having one million electric vehicles registered in
Illinois by 2030.
Locations along interstates throughout Illinois have been selected for
the second round of grant funding, including at Wally’s gas station in
Pontiac along Interstate 55 and at a Target in Gurnee off Interstate 94.
One of the largest disbursements will be a $910,287 grant for chargers
at Eric’s Too Family Restaurant and Lounge near the interchange of
Interstate 55 and Interstate 74 in Bloomington.
“This type of charging infrastructure will not only increase the number
of charging stations, but it will enhance our energy sources for the
Bloomington community as well,” Bloomington Mayor Dan Brady, a
Republican, said in a statement.
Capitol News Illinois is
a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government
coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily
by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. |
