Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and the Illinois Department of Transportation on Wednesday announced $18.4 million in grants toward building 25 new charging stations for electric vehicles along interstate highway corridors.

The funding was made possible through the second round of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program, which is helping advance a goal of having 1 million electric vehicles registered in Illinois by 2030, the governor's office said.

Under the bipartisan Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act signed into law in 2021, Illinois will receive $148 million in total to build out an electric vehicle charging network — first along interstates, later in local spots, the governor's office said. The first round of $25.3 million in funding went toward the construction of 37 charging stations.    

Since then, a new administration has taken over the White House. In May of this year, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and 16 other state attorneys general sued the Federal Highway Administration, claiming the administration withheld the remainder of the appropriated funds. In June, a judge ordered the administration to release the funding, the governor's office said.

Seven of the 25 new charging stations are planned for the following specific locations — all but one in downstate Illinois — with the respective grant amounts listed:

• $787,500 to Rivian Automotive Inc., Wally's, 1 Holiday Road, Pontiac. 
• $910,287 to Francis Energy Charging LLC, Eric's Too Family Restaurant and Lounge, 921 Maple Hill Road, Bloomington. 
• $801,840 to Universal EV LLC, Dairy Queen, 1504 E. Frontage Road, Okawville. 
• $649,702, EVgo Services LLC, Crossroads Plaza North, 1304 Thelma Keller Ave., Effingham. 
• $555,577, Electrify America LLC, Meijer, 2401 N. Prospect Ave., Champaign. 
• $850,304 to Universal EV LLC, Midtown Inn, 3125 Wide Track Drive, Springfield. 
• $599,351 to Tesla Inc., Target, 6601 Grand Ave., Gurnee.