Chicago Rivian Enthusiasts

Illinois EV rebate news: The Illinois EPA will open the next EV Rebate Program funding round on November 1, 2023. The funding round will run from November 1, 2023, to January 31, 2024.

Electric Vehicle Rebate Program - Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (illinois.gov)

Thanks for posting. I saw an email come through to the same effect. Sucks for those of us that took delivery before early August since the 90-day since purchase window precludes us from filing. Good news for those that will take delivery soon though!

Last year's implementation required purchasing after the start of the cycle. So only those purchases after November 1st will be valid and then you have to apply within 90 days of purchase. But we'll see when they clarify.

Just saw this too - how does this work? So if you're more than 90 days outside the window you just... don't get to apply? That seems nuts. There's something in the FAQ that mentions buying "outside" a cycle but it didn't really make sense to me. But it seems insane to randomly penalize someone just because they bought in some 3-4 week "window" especially when you don't really have control of when your purchase happens these days - even for traditional vehicles where you can to this day have 3-6 month lead times on delivery

@RexRemus

@RexRemus I couldn't agree more. But I think that's the situation as it stands today. Insane and unfair!

The IL rebate program started July 1, 2022 (the start of the state's fiscal year), and the rules seemed less arbitrary then. The legislature probably envisioned this as an ongoing year-around program. Alas, in FY22-23 and again in FY23-24, the legislature did not allocate enough funds to keep the program running for 12 months. FY22-23 funding was $18.5M. Pritzker asked for $20.5M for FY23-24, but the final budget passed by the legislature and signed by the gov had only $12M. The CEJA legislation signed by the gov back in 2021 stipulated that applications from low income people should have priority. IIRK, the "within 90 days of purchase" comes straight from the legislation. But a lot of details were not spelled out in the legislation. The program was handed over to IL-EPA to implement. IL-EPA decided to run the program in 3-month "funding cycles." During a funding cycle, applications from low income applicants are reviewed immediately and funded immediately if approved. Non low income applications are filed in the order they are received, and IL-EPA starts to review them (in the order they were received) at the end of the 3-month funding cycle. Waiting ensures that low income applications get first shot at available funds.

I have a friend in Peoria who took delivery of his R1T on July 1, 2022 at the factory. He said Rivian employees were pretty well versed on the application requirements. He sent off all his documents to IL-EPA a few days later. The first funding cycle ran from 7/1/22 to 9/30/22. Sometime around mid-October, he got a $4000 check in the mail.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2023/8/10/23827843/state-offer-money-back-buying-electric-cars-trucks

This is the verbiage on the FAQ that makes it seem like in fact, I'm eligible for the rebate (picking up R1S on 8/25):

"If I purchased a vehicle before the November 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024 funding cycle opens,
am I eligible for a rebate?

You will be eligible if you purchased an eligible vehicle and apply within 90 days of the purchase date. As a practical matter, a vehicle purchased on August 3, 2023, could be eligible if the application otherwise satisfies eligibility criteria and a complete application is postmarked on the first day of the funding cycle."

https://epa.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/epa/topics/ceja/documents/ev-rebate-program-faq.pdf

Chicago Rivian Enthusiasts

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