The Aurora City Council is set to vote on placing nine electric vehicle chargers across three locations in the city in the next five years, adding to the 69 public chargers already installed throughout the Aurora area, according to the city’s website.
The chargers are part of a five-year contract with Blink Network, LLC, which is set to be voted on by the City Council, along with other city purchases, at its Tuesday evening meeting.
If approved, dual-port chargers would be placed at Garfield Park, the Aurora Police Department and at a parking garage along East Downer Place, according to the Tuesday meeting’s agenda.
Just over 70% of the $292,000 total expense for the chargers would be covered by federal reimbursement grants, and city funds would pay the remaining $80,707. The reimbursement vouchers were awarded to the city in 2023 by the U.S. Department of Energy through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program.
The contract comes after nearly two years of city analysis on where to place the chargers and as the city has ramped up its efforts to promote electric vehicle infrastructure. Efforts to back electric vehicles date back to the city’s first sustainability plan in 2009, which was strengthened by a 2023 city commitment to operating a safe, clean and efficient fleet under former mayor Richard Irvin.
Purchasing electric city vehicles at times led to disagreements, but by January 2026, the city was awarded by the Illinois Alliance for Clean Transportation for its fleet of 19 electric vehicles and 47 hybrid vehicles.
Officials said at the July 21 City Council Committee of the Whole meeting that the new chargers aim to support the city’s electric fleet. The city also aims to place the chargers in locations that would benefit residents as well, and also sit along electrical infrastructure, which would support cost-effective installation, officials said.
City officials said in the resolution proposing the contract that installing electric vehicle chargers at the specific locations would offer improved charging opportunities for residents and visitors at a considerably reduced cost to the city.
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Sustainability, particularly green building, has remained a priority for Aurora Mayor John Laesch.
As a mayoral candidate, he told The Beacon-News that he would work to attract higher-paying jobs by “positioning Aurora for the green collar economy that’s coming,” at least in part by encouraging businesses that create innovative building materials to move to the city. Later, during his inauguration speech, Laesch said Aurora would be looking to partner with the local CEJA Workforce Hub to help train students for that coming “green collar economy.”