SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is making state parks more friendly for electric vehicle owners.

Forty EV charging stations are being installed at parks and historic sites across the state.

Capitol News Illinois reports three chargers have already been installed at state parks within 60 miles of St. Louis. Another is at the Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area in Cass County in central Illinois. More will come online in the coming months including one at Giant City State Park in Jackson County. 

IDNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie says the addition of EV chargers at state parks reinforces the goal of reducing Illinois’ carbon emission to zero by 2050.

One of Governor JB Pritzker goals is to have a million EVs on Illinois roads by 2030. 

He says these charging stations and the recent federal funding to build stations on Illinois highways will help in reaching that goal.