Aviator Coffee poised to open in Westchester Page 4
Illinois Has Ambitious EV Charger Plans
FEBRUARY 21, 2024
Vol. IX No. 8
Burlington Coat Factory opens in Melrose Park
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The state is looking to add enough chargers to support 1 million electric vehicles By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois
Illinois’ electric vehicle charging infrastructure is on pace to double this year, buoyed by an influx of state and federal dollars. The investments are aimed at supporting both federal and state environmental goals. The Biden Administration set the goal of EVs making up half of all U.S. vehicle sales by 2030. Under the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act – Gov. JB Pritzker’s marquee climate law that passed in 2021 – Illinois aims to have one million EVs on the road by 2030. These targets have spawned major infrastructure programs, which after years of planning and funding are seeing tangible results in Illinois. State funding allocated in 2023 put Illinois on course to double the number of direct current, or DC, fast charging ports on state roads within a year, from 993 to 1,914. The increase brings the number of fast charging ports to over 25 percent of the 7,000 DC ports estimated to be needed to support the state’s EV goals. In Illinois, several agencies are part of the effort to ensure EV charging infrastructure gets where it is needed, but the drive is coordinated by Megha Lakhchaura, the state electric vehicle coordinator at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. “We expect that we will need 36,000 public See EV CHARGERS on page 7
MICHAEL ROMAIN
Dr. Amira Millicent Davis gives a presentation on the Black Chicago Renaissance at the Westchester Public Library on Feb. 17. During the event, some attendees shared their family’s stories of migrating from the South to the North.
Black migration stories come alive in Westchester
The Westchester Public Library hosted Dr. Amira Millicent Davis, a scholar who offered insights on the Black Chicago Renaissance
By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
Around a dozen people gathered at the Westchester Public Library, 10700 Canterbury St. in Westchester, on Feb. 17 to listen to Dr. Amira Millicent Davis, a scholar and educator, talk about the rich history of Blacks in the Chicago area and how they arrived here.
Saturday’s event was part of programming sponsored by Illinois Humanities. Davis is an Illinois Humanities Road Scholar Speaker, which is an expert who travels across the state to bring “art, culture, history and contemporary social issues to life” at no cost to residents, Illinois Humanities’ website states. See BLACK MIGRATION on page 3