U.S. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced distribution details for the $8.25 million in federal funding that he secured in the Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Omnibus appropriations bill for electric buses. The funding, which was earmarked by Durbin for his Statewide Electric Bus and Charging Infrastructure Program, will go toward building up the state’s fleet of electric buses and constructing electric vehicle charging stations throughout Illinois.

“If we plan to live and work in a true 21st-century economy, we must make way for electric vehicles in public transportation. Illinois has the workforce, institutions, and leadership to play an important role in the EV revolution,” Durbin said. “This funding will change the way that Illinoisans get around. I’m eager to see the Statewide Electric Bus and Charging Infrastructure Program take off with this substantial investment.”

The federal funding was allocated to the following Illinois cities:

• Bloomington-Normal: $2.78 million
• Champaign-Urbana: $3.78 million
• Rock Island: $1.68 million