No longer just for tree huggers, hybrid cars are growing in popularity in Chicago and across Illinois due to rising gas prices, environmental concerns and a rebate program through the state treasurer’s office.

Chicago is now ranked fifth among U.S. cities in new hybrid car sales, according to a survey conducted from July 2007 to July 2008 by HybridCars.com, a website that provides consumer information about hybrid gas-electric cars. Nearly 5,000 new hybrid cars were registered in Chicago in the past year. Illinois was also ranked as fifth in hybrid car sales by state with a little more than 6,000 new hybrids registered statewide.

One possible contribution to the rise in hybrid sales is the Green Rewards program that was instituted by Illinois state treasurer Alexi Giannoulias.

In July 2007, Giannoulias committed $2 million to the program, which gave Illinois residents a $1,000 rebate when purchasing a new hybrid car. Electric and fuel cell vehicles were also eligible under the program.

After helping to fund the purchase of 2,000 hybrid cars, the program reached its funding cap in 10 months and stopped taking applications as of May 15. Green Rewards was started as a one-year pilot program and there are no plans to reinstate at this time, according to Kati Phillips, spokesperson for the Illinois state treasurer’s office.

“We were really happy with the success of the Green Rewards program and we think that we definitely made a difference in helping people afford these cars that might have been out of their price range otherwise, while also reducing their gas consumption,” Phillips said. “But we are constantly looking for new ways to help Illinois reduce its carbon emissions.”

Giannoulias’ office experimented with the car portion first and is now looking at reducing the state’s carbon footprint by promoting green buildings through a program called Green Energy. The new program launched in July will offer low-interest loans to businesses, local governments and nonprofit agencies if they are “greening” their building, Phillips said.

“I think anything you can do to make fuel-efficient vehicles more affordable for people is definitely positive,” said Jen Hensley, grassroots coordinator for the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club.

The Sierra Club supported Giannoulias’ Green Rewards program and helped roll it out, Hensley said, though she said they hope hybrids are a transitional vehicle into even cleaner technologies and that progress continues to move forward with regards to research on alternative fuel sources.

“We certainly applaud people buying hybrids,” Hensley said. “Any time you make a car more efficient you are burning less gas, not putting on pressure to drill our coasts and reducing global warming.”

At Chicago Northside Toyota, 5626 N. Broadway St., sales manager Lou Escobar said he has seen the dealership’s hybrid sales go up by roughly 30 percent in the last year. The main selling points of hybrids are the gas mileage and environmental friendliness, Escobar said.

New hybrid owner Janice Cha of Morton Grove, Ill. said she couldn’t be happier with the Toyota Prius hybrid car she bought in July. Though the environment was a concern for her when she decided to purchase a new car, what sold her on the Prius was that it was a “cool” car.

According to the HybridCars.com survey, Prius sales were down by about 8 percent since July 2007, but it is still the most popular hybrid vehicle with more than 14,000 cars sold last year. Sales of the Honda Civic hybrid for the year hit 3,440 in July, which is an increase of 26.9 percent from July 2007, according to the survey.

Cha said after selling her old car, a 1995 Nissan Maxima, she has saved significantly on fuel costs.

“We are getting roughly 50 miles to the gallon right now,” Cha said.

“Our average fill-up [costs] half of what it used to.”

Though hybrids are growing in popularity, they are still significantly less common than normal cars. Of the 1,136,539 vehicles sold as of July 2008, only 26,877 of those were hybrids, according to the survey.

Phillips said she would like to see more states follow Illinois’ lead in promoting environmental initiatives like the Green Rewards program, which was the largest state-backed rebate program of its kind.

“Economic development and green development go hand-in-hand,” Phillips said.