The Michigan State Spartans are set to take on one of their bigger threats to the Big Ten in the Illinois Fighting Illini on Sunday. While MSU sits atop the Big Ten standings, Illinois has a team that can easily climb the ranks, that is, depending on what version Illinois decides to be against the Spartans.

The Fighting Illini have had a confusing season thus far. Predicted to be one of the biggest threats to other conference competitors, they haven’t necessarily lived up to the hype. But at the same time, they have. Going into the game with MSU, Illinois holds a 13-4 record.

The theme revolving around the Fighting Illini this season has been back-and-forth victories. For example, the team blew out the Oregon Ducks 109-77, a Ducks team that has only lost two games this season. The juggernauts on the team came to play in that game, but when they face off against a lesser threat, they seem to let their guard down.

Their most recent loss came against USC, a team that sits three games back out of first place. Sloppiness has come back to bite the Fighting Illini in the backside when they face teams they are predicted to play well against.

As for MSU, the program could have a lot on their plate given the track record the Fighting Illini have when facing opponents who hold a better record than them. Following the theme, Illinois lost to USC and then won their following game against Indiana in a 94-69 blowout. What does that mean for the Spartans?

MSU has looked unstoppable as of late, yet Coach Tom Izzo believes the team still has a lot to learn and that they shouldn’t get complacent. The way that the Spartans are playing, it would be a huge blow to Illinois if they lost the game and fell three games back of them in the Big Ten standings.

Best-case scenario for the Spartans is to prepare themselves as if they know that Illinois will bring their best effort to knock them off of their winning streak. But it should be easy to tell early what type of Fighting Illini team will come to play against MSU on Sunday.

Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan NationWHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as wellWHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.

Public charging for electric trucks — including the largest semi-trailers — is on the way in Illinois.

The state has landed a $100 million federal grant for the construction of 14 public charging stations for medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

Located at strategic points along major truck routes, the charging stations will have a total of 345 ports — enough to charge up to 3,500 trucks a day, according to Illinois electric vehicle officer Megha Lakhchaura.

“Illinois can be a critical connecting node for (electric) trucks going across the county,” said Lakhchaura, noting there is already some charging infrastructure on the East Coast and in the West.

“This would be that critical node that helps trucks actually go across the country, north to south and east to west,” she said.

Charging station locations will include the Chicago area, Springfield, and the Metro East and Quad Cities regions.

Medium- and heavy-duty trucks are responsible for 21% of the country’s transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions, although they account for just 5% of vehicles on the road.

In addition, most of these trucks run on diesel fuel, a growing health concern in neighborhoods such as Little Village, which experience heavy truck traffic.

Exposure to diesel exhaust can lead to asthma and respiratory illnesses and worsen existing heart and lung disease, especially in children and the elderly, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The agency considers diesel exhaust a likely carcinogen.

At the Chicago-based Respiratory Health Association, Brian Urbaszewski, environmental health programs director, said 14 truck-charging stations is a good start for Illinois.

“It’s really encouraging that the state went for this money, got this money, and is working with businesses to get (the chargers) into the ground,” he said.

Urbaszewski noted that the state also landed a $430 million EPA climate pollution reduction grant in July, of which $115 million will be aimed at truck electrification. And in November, the EPA awarded the state $95 million to electrify transportation and equipment at ports, including the Illinois International Port in the East Side neighborhood.

“This is another piece to a larger puzzle,” Urbaszewski said of the truck-charging grant, “and more funding aimed at things like electrifying trucks.”

Electric trucks remain less than 1% of the medium- and heavy-duty trucks on the road, but sales have been rising.

Lakhchaura said that the future of big electric trucks in Illinois is hard to predict, and a lot is going to depend on the broader market.

“The big problem has been that battery costs haven’t gone down, which is why the long-range (option) hasn’t taken off,” she said.

Medium-duty trucks with ranges of 150 to 160 miles are selling, she said, but for long-distance hauls you need a semi with a range of 500 miles and an attractive price.

Among the companies in the race to produce that truck is Tesla, which has announced plans to begin high-volume production of its semi in late 2025. The Tesla semi has an advertised range of up to 500 miles.

Lakhchaura noted that Tesla’s breakthrough electric cars — the Model 3 and Model Y — changed consumer perceptions of EVs, and she said she’s hoping that a similarly game-changing semi is on the horizon.

In the meantime, she is encouraged by the private sector’s response to Illinois’ grant proposal for the 14 truck charging stations.

Illinois applied for the funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation, but private companies will build the stations and pay some of the cost.

“The state said, ‘Who’s interested in building these chargers?’ and the private sector came, so that gives me a lot of confidence. It’s them coming to us and saying, ‘Yes, we see this (coming),’” she said.

The companies building the charging stations include Tesla, Prologis, Gage Zero and Pilot.

The truck charging stations — some of which will have onsite solar and batteries — should start appearing within two or three years, Lakhchaura said, although that’s a conservative estimate.

“I think (the companies building them) would like to do it sooner,” she said.

nschoenberg@chicagotribune.com

Independent bookstores are the heartbeats of their communities. They provide culture and community, generate local jobs and sales tax revenue, promote literacy and education, champion and center diverse and new authors, connect readers to books in a personal and authentic way, and actively support the right to read and access to books in their communities.

Each week we profile an independent bookstore, sharing what makes each one special and getting their expert and unique book recommendations.

This week we have Booked in Evanston, Illinois!

What’s your store’s story?

Chelsea Elward, a lifelong Evanstonian, opened Booked in 2018 as Chicagoland’s first children’s focused independent bookstore — and the only one with a tiny door just for kids. Today, the store is owned by two employees, Abby Dan and Betsy Haberl. 

Recently, we’ve filled the shelves, launched weekly kids’ programming (including two trans and nonbinary Dungeons & Dragons Groups for tweens and teens), expanded the adult section, and added adult book clubs! 

Our aim is to be a community space and a community asset, helping Evanston’s families, schools, congregations and businesses connect through books.

What makes your independent bookstore unique?

We’re the store with the tiny door! (Technically, our door is called a “wicket,” but Evanstonians and visitors know that we’ve got a little door within a door just for kids.)

We love to see them confidently (or nervously) striding through our tiny door to find a magical space with books at their level, a cozy rainbow rug, as well as puzzles and toys. 

We’re a storytime spot for a fleet of toddler parents and caregivers, thanks to our musically talented and enthusiastic staff. We also host our trans and nonbinary Dungeons & Dragons group, began with four kids and has expanded to a weekly after-hours event for tweens and teens. And as we’ve grown and curated our adult shelves, we’ve built two enthusiastic, committed book clubs: Booked Club (which reads literary fiction and nonfiction) and Sunday Smut (which reads modern romance). 

Many community members come in to talk books with us, and we love building these relationships. Most importantly, we are all hand-sellers. You tell us what you need, what you’re feeling, what you want to feel or communicate with a gift, and we can find you the right title.

What’s your favorite section in your store?

I love our Middle Grade section — there is just so much depth there! Middle Grade authors are doing everything from talking dogs to neurodivergent narrators in verse to dragon flights to dust bowl family sagas to elite private schools and everything in between. 

I love it when parents or grandparents come in with a great idea of who their kid is but no idea what they should read next. We always have something new or different, and we love it when they come back to tell us we nailed it!

Why is shopping at local, independent bookstores important?

Evanston is everything to Abby and Betsy — we both live here, send our kids to schools here, employ fellow Evanstonians, spend our own money at local businesses. 

Booked is a physical place where kids and adults can come to gather and shop, but we’re also a community entity that gets diverse books into classrooms, homes, shelters and other community spaces. We bring authors to the community and its schools, and we bring people of all ages together. Without customers, we can’t add this layer of richness to Evanston, enrich the lives we touch, and we can’t be a cool spot to pick out great stickers. We just won’t be here.

Check out these titles recommended by Booked owner, Abby Dan:

• “The Sentence” by Louise Erdrich
• “Shark Heart” by Emily Habeck
• “Finally Heard” by Kelly Yang
• “The Other Valley” by Scott Alexander Howard
• “Sheine Lende” by Darcie Little Badger
• “Funny Story” by Emily Henry
• “The Birchbark House” by Louise Erdrich
• “Pretty Ugly” by David Sedaris