Illinois aims to have 1 million electric cars on its roads by 2030. | Adobe Stock
Illinois aims to have 1 million electric cars on its roads by 2030. | Adobe Stock
Governor J.B. Pritzker signed House Bill 1769, dubbed the Reimagining Electric Vehicles, that’ll bolster the manufacturing of electric vehicles in the state.
This will also support the state's bold climate change agenda, including putting 1 million EVs on the road by 2030, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity wrote.
It went into effect Nov. 16.
“This bill, this measure comes before us tonight for one simple reason,” State Rep. Tom Demmer said. “Right now Illinois is being out-competed by other states across the United States and attracting major investments to add new jobs in a developing and dynamic industry. We need to make Illinois more competitive.
"I think we need to do anything we can to give Illinois a fighting chance to bring new jobs and new investments to our state," Demmer continued before the it arrived on Pritzker's desk. "But the reality is we have to do more, and this thinking has to be with us on every bill we consider in this House and not just on an occasional bill to correct a major anti-competitive situation that we find ourselves in."
Demmer expressed concerns, though, that the measure could be held as a "political hostage in future negotiations."
"How can I tell the businesses who are looking at this incentive here tonight that it won't be reversed in next year's budget, or the budget after that if the governor suddenly decides that instead it's a corporate loophole, instead of an incentive to attract businesses?" Demmer asked. "He's done it before, will he do it again?"
The bill passed the House 110 to 2 and the Senate 55 to zero. It was first introduced in February by Rep. Greg Harris.
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