ILLINOIS — Some Chicagoans are heading to the suburbs to fill up their tanks, as gas prices continue to climb in the city limits.
According to the latest Lundberg Survey of fuel prices, Chicago has the highest gas prices in the country. While the average price of gas reportedly rose by 12 cents in the past two weeks, Chicago is well above the national average–paying about $4.27 per gallon.
Many Chicagoans are paying more than that, however. Chicagogasprices.com reports that a Northwest Side BP station is charging $4.69 per regular gallon, and prices remain in the $4.30-$4.50 range throughout much of the city.
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“That’s why I’m only putting 10-bucks in here and then going up to the suburbs in Lake County and put the rest, that’s my plan right now,” Chicagoan Mark Jacobsen told Fox Chicago.
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Prices in the suburbs range from $4.07 per gallon at the Costco station in Melrose Park to the $4.20 range in some southwest suburbs, according to Chicagogasprices.com.
President Obama discussed the issue of high gas prices in his weekly address, and told donors in Los Angeles that prices at the pump have quite an impact on his polling numbers.
“These gas prices are killing you right now,” Obama said at Facebook headquarters in Palo Alto, acknowledging that many Americans can’t afford new fuel-efficient cars and must drive older models.. For some, he said, the cost of a fill-up has all but erased the benefit of the payroll tax holiday that he and congressional Republicans agreed on last December.
Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk pitched some ideas for alleviating pain at the pump in Illinois last week. He said exploring natural gas supplies, speeding up the offshore drilling permit process in the Gulf of Mexico and easing federal regulation would bring down prices quickly.
“If the market saw Congress moving in this bipartisan direction, it would see larger supplies in the future and that would directly affect the futures market. The price of gasoline right now is artificially high because the markets see a constriction of supply,” Kirk said, according to WBEZ.
The Associated Press reports that the latest Lundberg Survey puts the average price for a gallon of regular gas at $3.88, as of April 22. The national average for a gallon of mid-grade is $4.02, and $4.13 a gallon for premium.
