Rising gas prices cause pain at Chicago-area pumps
CHICAGO - The Biden administration's ban on Russian oil imports has translated into pain at the pump here at home.
Chicagoans frequently head to the suburbs to get cheaper gas. And Costco members know it's often cheaper there.
But at $4.36 a gallon for regular at the Costco in Niles Wednesday, no one felt like they got a bargain.
Triple-A says the average price here in Cook County is $4.60 a gallon.
In Illinois, AAA says the average price per gallon is $4.52, up 10 cents since yesterday.
At the BP station at LaSalle Street and North Avenue in the city it was already up to $5.25 Tuesday evening.
These are record high prices, surpassing records set back in 2008 during the financial crisis.
It has a lot of people lining up to fill their tanks before prices get even higher.
"I mean it's been all over the news so not really surprised. But definitely filling up before it got worse was my strategy this morning," Natalie Lopatkiewicz said.
"I talked with my wife, and we have two cars, but I think we're just going to use one car at a time and plan our trips more efficiently," said Spiros Pissios. "Sadly I can identify. I came from Greece right after World War II. I feel very very very sad And the least we can do as Americans and we always talk about democracy, now here's our chance to pay a little more to prove that we really love this country. And we love democracy."
"I just think it's bad economic policies," said Glenn Trauthwein. "I think if the Biden administration would have taken a tougher stance on Russia when they were preparing and building up on the border, we wouldn't be in this situation.... There were no sanctions leveled, They took no military action. They did nothing."
Market analyst Scott Martin said the worst is yet to come.
"As we approach spring break and summer, we’re looking at $6 a gallon and even $7 in places like California. It’s definitely going to be a shock to consumers," Martin said.