ComEd, in partnership with the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus (Caucus), recognized nine communities that graduated from the 2026 EV Readiness Program during an award ceremony today in Northbrook, Illinois. The program supports municipalities as they prepare for the continued growth of electric vehicles (EVs) through improved local policies, permitting and first-responder readiness.

The ceremony was hosted at UL Solutions in Northbrook, a global safety science leader, offering testing, inspection and certification services, and brought together municipal leaders, sustainability staff and local officials from across the region to celebrate local progress and collaboration.

“The EV Readiness Program helps communities remove barriers to EV charging, improve safety and streamline local processes,” said ComEd President and CEO Gil Quiniones. “These graduating municipalities are leading the way in building the infrastructure needed to support a cleaner, more sustainable transportation future, that benefits local residents and supports progress towards the state of Illinois’ EV adoption goals.”

Launched in partnership with the Caucus in 2022, ComEd’s EV Readiness Program brings together municipalities across northern Illinois to learn and share best practices to prepare for increased electric vehicle adoption. Now on its fourth cohort of local governments, the program supports communities as they update zoning codes to remove barriers to EV charging, streamline permitting processes, strengthen community engagement, and train first responders. Communities also track key metrics, such as the number of EVs and local charging stations, to better plan for future demand — efforts that led several municipalities, including Northbrook, Downers Grove and Des Plaines, to earn Bronze EV Ready designation in 2026. Streamwood and Vernon Hills received a Silver EV Ready designation after earning bronze in 2025.

“Local governments play a critical role in preparing for increased EV adoption,” said Kevin Burns, Mayor, City of Geneva, Illinois and Metropolitan Mayors Caucus Environment and Energy Committee Chair. “The EV Readiness Program provides communities with the tools and guidance needed to support residents, businesses and long-term sustainability goals.”

As this work continues, EV adoption is expected to continue growing statewide, with about 171,000 EVs currently registered in Illinois and the vast majority of them driving in ComEd’s service territory. The state aims to reach one million electric vehicles on the road by 2030 under the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA).

“As Illinois continues to electrify transportation, we have an opportunity to build charging infrastructure that is smarter, faster and more accessible for communities across the state,” said Megha Lakhchaura, Illinois State Electric Vehicle Officer. “Through this partnership with ComEd and the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, 45 communities have earned the EV Ready Community designation by strengthening policies, preparing for growing demand and accelerating the expansion of EV infrastructure statewide.”

This year’s graduating cohort spans communities across northeastern Illinois, including:

• Burr Ridge
• Des Plaines
• Downers Grove
• Grayslake
• Northbrook
• Pingree Grove
• Streamwood
• Vernon Hills
• Woodridge

“Hosting this year’s EV Readiness graduation in Northbrook reflects our commitment to sustainability and collaboration,” said Kathryn Ciesla, Village President, Village of Northbrook. “Not only have we worked with the fourth cohort to earn EV Ready Community designation at the Bronze level, we have honored UL Solutions with the first Gold designation in the Village of Northbrook’s Green Business Program for its work to create a safer, more secure and sustainable world.”

In Downers Grove, collaboration with ComEd supported the installation of nearly 300 EV charging stations at an Amazon distribution facility after the company converted its delivery fleet to electric vehicles. The Village also strengthened its local framework by creating EV charger–specific permit types for single-family, multi-family and commercial properties.

“The EV Readiness Program provides a great opportunity for Downers Grove to collaborate with ComEd and regional partners to create a more sustainable future,” said Bob Barnett, Mayor of the Village of Downers Grove.

Des Plaines hosted the kickoff meeting for the fourth EV Readiness cohort and continues to play a key role in advancing regional EV infrastructure. A 40-bay BP Pulse charging hub opened in December, and the city has begun electrifying its municipal fleet with the addition of two electric vehicles.

“The EV Readiness Program has equipped us with the knowledge and tools to expand electric transportation across our city, supporting residents and businesses while driving investment and long-term sustainability,” said Andrew Goczkowski, Mayor of the City of Des Plaines. “We’re proud to be part of a cohort of municipalities working together to build a more sustainable and thriving region.”

The EV Readiness Program is just one component of ComEd’s continued investment in supporting the transition to electric transportation across northern Illinois. ComEd also offers free fleet electrification assessments to help public and private sector customers evaluate opportunities to transition vehicle fleets to electric, alongside EV incentive and rebate programs that support vehicle adoption and charging infrastructure deployment.

To date, ComEd has provided more than $200M in EV incentive and rebate funding to help residential, business and public sector customers deploy electric vehicles and charging infrastructure to more than 360 zip codes in Illinois. In alignment with the state’s goals, more than 81% of funding has been dedicated to equity investment eligible communities (EIEC) or low-income customers.

To learn more about the benefits of EVs, program eligibility and how ComEd can support your electrification project, please go to www.comed.com/EV. To learn about participating in the EV Readiness Program, go to the Caucus' website.

About ComEd

ComEd is a unit of Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NASDAQ: EXC), a Fortune 200 company and one of the nation’s largest utility companies, serving almost 11 million customers through six fully regulated transmission and distribution utilities — Atlantic City Electric, BGE, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO, and Pepco. ComEd powers the lives of more than 4 million customers across northern Illinois, or 70 percent of the state’s population. For more information, visit ComEd.com, and connect with the company on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and YouTube.

About the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus

The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus is a membership organization of the Chicago region’s 275 cities, towns and villages. Founded in 1997, the Caucus pushes past geographical boundaries and local interests to work on public policy issues. The organization provides a forum for metropolitan Chicago’s chief elected officials to collaborate on common problems and work toward a common goal of improving the quality of life for the millions of people who call the region home. For more information, visit mayorscaucus.org, and connect with the organization on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and YouTube.

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