LaHood and Osman discuss electric vehicles

Posted on May 9, 2022
Ray LaHood was on a panel discussion at the Illinois News Broadcasters Association convention in Peoria, as was IDOT secretary Omer Osman. (Dave Dahl/WJBC)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – As fewer people buy gasoline, someone will have to pick up the slack. And how to pay for road construction is not the only question.

“You’ve got to put some money into the grid,” said former U.S. transportation secretary Ray LaHood, who is also a former congressman from Peoria. “The grid is not capable of handling all of these electrified automobiles. So there is money in the energy part of the bill that was passed to begin to upgrade the grid.”

LaHood was on a panel discussion at the Illinois News Broadcasters Association convention in Peoria, as was IDOT secretary Omer Osman.

Osman said a user fee of some sort may have to be part of the solution.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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