Anna Melnikov and Hunter Ellis each decided to buy electric cars in January, encouraged by an Illinois program that provided $4,000 rebates.
Unfortunately, all they got were letters in April explaining the state ran out of money.
“I was both surprised and disappointed,” said Melnikov, who purchased a used Tesla.
“It was very frustrating,” added Ellis, who bought a used Fiat500e.
On Thursday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s administration announced another round of electric vehicle rebates, again offering $4,000 per car or truck or $1,500 for a motorcycle. The applications will be taken beginning in November and through January 2024.
After demand was significantly higher than the $19 million the state doled out for the last rebate program, this year’s pot is only $12 million.
Illinois is among a number of states offering incentives to its residents to buy electric vehicles. Transportation is the biggest contributor to carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming.
Health advocates also say hundreds if not thousands of lives can be saved in the coming years by reducing air pollution from gas and diesel cars and trucks.
“Less tailpipe pollution means fewer asthma attacks, fewer people going to the hospital for respiratory issues and fewer people will die,” said Brian Urbaszewski, director of environmental health at Respiratory Health Association.
Full details for applying for the new rebates will be explained October 18 on the website https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/ceja/electric-vehicle-rebates.html. The rebate applications will require documentation and must be mailed.
The program applies to both new and used vehicles, but those cars, trucks and motorcycles must be all-electric and not hybrid models.
For the state’s current budget, Pritzker asked for $20 million for the latest rebate program that begins in November but Illinois lawmakers allocated the smaller amount.
Kim Biggs, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, said state officials will use next year’s budget planning “to explore ways to maximize the effectiveness of these rebates.” Illinois EPA oversees the program.
“More money would absolutely be helpful,” Melnikov said, “and increased transparency would definitely help.”
Melnikov, a Rogers Park resident, also said the state should roll over applicants who lost out after the previous rebates. Under the state’s rules, both Melnikov and Ellis, who lives in Jefferson Park, are unable to reapply for the money.
Around 4,900 rebates were awarded in the last round, which was just more than 60% of the applicants, according to the state.
Illinois officials have said that a preference will be given to low-income residents. There were 535 rebates awarded to low-income residents for the program that ended earlier this year out of an applicant pool of 754.
As of last month, there were just more than 76,000 electric vehicles registered in Illinois, which is a fraction of the 7.6 million total passenger vehicles and almost 1.3 million pickup trucks, according to the Illinois secretary of state’s office.
Almost 21,000 electric vehicles are registered in Cook County.
Most of the rebates granted during the last cycle were for cars. Owners of 261 trucks and 10 motorcycles received rebates, state officials said.
Brett Chase’s reporting on the environment and public health is made possible by a grant from The Chicago Community Trust.
