. . . the legislature imposed a new registration fee of $248 on electric cars as part of a sweeping measure to build income for the state's highway funds.
The new fees may still come as a shock to electric-car owners, who previously paid just $17.50 before, while other drivers paid $98. Instead of paying less, electric-car drivers now pay more.
The measure also raises registration fees on gas cars to $148, and more significantly doubles the state's gas tax to 38 cents per gallon. . . .
It's unclear whether the $1,000 fee for EVs, which seemed a punitive sum designed to discourage electric-car sales, was ever serious or if it were intended to lessen the burn from the extra $100 fee now levied on EVs. In any case, Illinois now joins North Dakota, Washington state, and others in charging EVs more up front.