Where to Find Electric Car Charging Stations in Chicago

When Chevrolet and Nissan announced plans to introduce fuel-efficient electric cars in cities around the country, Chicago wasn't on the list for the early distribution of either the Chevy Volt or the Nissan Leaf. But that snub has not deterred Chicago officials from its plan to install public charging stations to service those eco-friendly electric cars.

Windy City going green

Chicago city officials recently awarded a nearly $2 million contract to install up to 300 electric car charging stations in Chicago and its suburbs by the end of the year.

The plan calls for the city to start going green with charging stations called "CharJit Express Plazas," which will be installed at O'Hare and Midway airports, highway service plazas, as well as in public parking garages and lots.

"When this project is completed by the end of this year, Chicago will have the most DC quick-charging stations of any city in the United States," says Suzanne Malec-McKenna, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Environment. "The only competition is the entire state of California with just a couple dozen more."

If you build it, they will come

Chicago hopes that a pro-active decision to install the charging stations will coax car companies to move up their plans to sell the eco-friendly electric cars in the area.

"We are very much focused and talking to a number of car manufacturers, telling them that Chicago is going to be EV ready," says Joshua Milberg, first deputy commissioner of the city's Department of Environment. "We are in Ford's first wave of electric vehicles. We're working with Nissan, we're talking with General Motors. We're talking with Mitsubishi."

Current locations

Already, there are electric car charging stations in a number of locations around Chicago.

InterPark, Inc. operates 12 garages in downtown Chicago that are equipped with electric car charging stations. The plug-in locations are part of a comprehensive eco-friendly policy by the company to stress sustainable practices.

"People who are working downtown...they have a solution," says Jim Doria, senior vice president of InterPark . "They can plug in and know that they'll have enough charge to get back home."

Other electric car charging stations currently operating around Chicago include:

The Millenium Park Garage, which began going green when electric car charging stations were installed in 2010.

The 900 North Michigan Shops on the Magnificent Mile, which has a pair of charging stations.

The Chicago Center for Green Technology at 445 N. Sacramento Blvd. also has a pair of the chargers on premise.

The 81-story, eco-friendly Aqua condominium building at 225 N. Columbus Drive has six charging stations capable of servicing up to 24 electric cars.