Four Illinois state parks now have public charging stations for electric vehicles, including three within driving distance of St. Louis.
An additional 40 chargers will be placed at other widely used public areas in the state as part of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ goal of zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The public stations are also meant to make it easier for people with electric vehicles to drive across and around Illinois, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said at Frank Holten State Park in East St. Louis on Thursday.
“If you're coming from Chicago and going to St. Louis, for example, we need all the charging along the way to go to St Louis, even if we're not responsible for the ones in St. Louis,” Pritzker said.
The Level 2 chargers were donated to the department by EVBox, an electric vehicle charger manufacturer based in Illinois.
Natalie Phelps Finnie, the agency's director, said the charging stations will encourage more electric vehicle drivers to visit Illinois’ parks and historic sites.
“Our hope is that visitors and tourists will stop at an Illinois state park, have a picnic, or hike a trail where their car charges for a couple of hours before they head to their next destination, and hopefully their experience is delightful enough that they'll tell their friends about it,” Finnie said.
Finnie added that there is a growing demand for EV chargers in rural and underserved communities that the department is working to fulfill.
There are about 120,000 registered electric vehicles in Illinois. By 2030, the state wants to increase that to 1 million. Making chargers more accessible is key to reaching that goal, said Lisa Clement Stott, electric mobility and innovation director of the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
A 2023 AAA survey found that 53% of travelers said a lack of charging stations is the primary barrier preventing them from buying an electric vehicle.
“Charging fear is real,” Stott said. “Range anxiety is real, but here in Illinois, we're continuously working to ensure this will soon be a concern of the past.”
The department installed charging stations at Frank Holten State Park in East St. Louis, Eldon Hazlet State Recreation Area near Carlyle, Washington County State Recreation Area near Nashville and Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area in Cass County in central Illinois.
The installations can fully charge a car in 4-10 hours, depending on the vehicle, while drawing about the same power as a clothes dryer, said Dan Fedor, a business manager with EVBox. Fedor said he wants to see Illinois continue to lead electric vehicle and charger production.
“The desire and the need to mitigate climate change is stronger than ever in times of disaster,” Fedor said. “Eventually we can be completely off the grid in terms of how we're powering our vehicles.”
At an unveiling of the charging station in Frank Holten State Park, state Rep. Kevin Schmidt, R-Cahokia Heights, said his district has been plagued by environmental racism.
Adding the charging station and incentivizing more people to switch to electric cars can help lower Cahokia Height’s carbon footprint, he added.
“To see that electric charging station and to know that we're going in the right direction and that we're being kind to Mother Earth … will yield a ton of benefits for us all,” Schmidt said.
