We are getting a ROYAL SCREWING!!!

Gasoline Prices In Chicago Are Highest
In Nation


According to the Lundberg survey, the average price
for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline in Chicago now stands at
$4.27—a 12 cent increase in the past two weeks. And that's just the
average. Several stations in Chicago were selling gasoline for between
$4.60 and $4.70 a gallon.
Monday morning were found at two gas stations close to highway
entrances. At the Citgo station at 1004 S. Desplaines St., near the
Taylor Street and Roosevelt Road entrances to the Dan Ryan Expressway,
and the BP station at 755 W. Lawrence Ave. near that street's entrance
to Lake Shore Drive, the price was $4.69 per gallon.

By comparison to all that, the national average is
$3.88.
"I just put in whatever I think is going to be enough
to get me through the week," Gloria Selgado of Chicago told CBS 2′s
Dana Kozlov. "That's it."
For Selgado, that rings up to about $130 every seven
days — forcing her to consider cutting back on her driving.
"I have to think about it twice, to go anywhere I
have to think about these things," she said.
For Scott Jacobs of Park Ridge, cutting back on other
expenses, such as long summer trips, is the only way to budget the
steep price of driving in Chicago. He and his family will stay closer to
home for their getaway.
"We love to camp, but we'll probably just pull in our
camp zones a little bit. There's a lot of great camping in, you know,
Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin," Jacobs said.
Even younger drivers say they're making a social
sacrifice.
"I can't go out as much," one young woman said, "and
then I have to ask my parents for money sometimes."
Para Sivagura drove to Chicago from Toronto for an
extended weekend trip. She was shocked at spending $300 just to get to
Chicago, and she was nervous about how much it would cost to get back
home.
"People can't afford to drive on the street,"
Sivagura said. "Pay-wise is not that much. Cost of living is higher and
higher."
Across the border in Northwest Indiana, where prices
are historically 25 to 30 cents a gallon cheaper, it's nearly impossible
to find a gallon below $4. Higher state and county taxes in Illinois
account for the cost difference over the border.
The national average now stands at $3.88—with no
signs of a reversal anytime soon.
The highest prices are normally seen in California.
In San Francisco, which has held the most expensive title in the past,
the average is $4.22.
That makes $5 a gallon in Chicago a very real possibility. If conditions are right, drivers could be paying
$6 before the year is out.
Richard Hastings says don't look for any relief soon.
"This year, you get more than $4 a gallon … all the way through until
September," he says.
That may be the optimistic view. If supply disruptions occur, look out.
"That could easily send prices at the pump slightly above $6 a gallon,
and then they would start to come back down after that," Hastings says.
"But we could see an amazing spike."
Image: Chicago's gas prices are now the highest in the nation. Gloria
Selgado says she pays up to $130 a week on gas. (Credit: CBS)