Alejandro Vasquez was filling up his Toyota Prius Thursday morning at one of the priciest gas stations in Chicago.
The Shell station at 130 W. North Ave. in Old Town was selling regular gas at $5.80 a gallon, one of the highest prices for a gallon of gas in the city, according to data from GasBuddy.
But after months of climbing gas prices, Vasquez, who earns extra cash delivering groceries, and other drivers interviewed on Thursday said they are now resigned to the steep prices.
“My friend and I talked about this,” Vasquez, 29, said. “We treat it kind of like a phone bill, though. I don’t even look at it. What else am I gonna do?”
As summer begins, consumers are finding no relief from climbing gas and food prices. Just a few months ago, the average price for a gallon of regular gas in the Chicago metro area was around $4, according to GasBuddy. As of Thursday, the average price was $4.52. The Chicago metro area’s record-high gas price was in 2022 when it reached $6.07, largely due to the war in Ukraine.
Vasquez said he stopped at the station because he was “literally out of gas.”
“It is funny when you notice [gas prices]. I think when they get more predatory in places where there’s no gas stations. So they know that you’re stopping because you have to,” he said.
A nearby BP station, at 1647 N. LaSalle Drive was also priced at $5.80 for a gallon of regular gas. The two stations in Old Town are right off DuSable Lake Shore Drive, easily catching drivers when they’re in need.
GasBuddy data showed only one station in Chicago had a higher price — a Marathon near Fulton Market, where the price was $6 this week.
“Oh Lord, there’s nothing else to say about gas prices,” Reggie Russell, 40, said at the BP station.
Russell, an Uber driver, normally travels to Indiana to get cheaper gas. Prices there Thursday were an average of $3.38, according to GasBuddy.
“It doesn’t matter where in Indiana you go; as long as you go to Indiana it’s good,” he said.
It used to take about $20 to fill up his Dodge Caravan, but now it’s double that, he said.
After filling up Thursday, he was headed for his first Uber pickup of the day.
For Lia Montelongo, 51, fueling up her 2020 Jeep isn’t going to make her lose sleep.
“I really don’t care about the gas prices,” the Equinox fitness instructor, model and actress said. “I notice the higher prices, but I don’t care. I have to drive so it’s like I’ve got to just suit up and show up.”
She lives in Mokena, a southwest suburb, and fills up a couple times a week.
“The only reason why I do stop here is because it’s on my way to get home,” she said. “It’s like I know I’m safe. I’m gonna jump on the Lake Shore Drive and go home.”
Rising gas prices pushed inflation to its highest level in three years last month. The consumer price index rose 4.2% in May compared to a year earlier, up from 3.8% in April and the third straight increase, the U.S. Labor Department said Wednesday. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.5% last month, compared to 0.6% in April and 0.9% in March.
Gas prices rose in May because of Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has choked off about a fifth of the world’s oil supply.
Nationally, prices are at $4.08, up 96 cents from last year’s average of $3.12. But they’ve fallen about 42 cents from last month’s average of $4.50, according to GasBuddy. But the decline doesn’t mean gas prices aren’t on the minds of most Americans, especially those in Chicago.
With more expensive diesel fuel pushing up shipping costs, companies like UPS and FedEx have added fuel surcharges in the past couple of months. That is likely to lead to higher grocery prices, which jumped 0.7% in April and are 2.9% higher than a year ago.
In Chicago, a check of 35 common grocery items last week at four stores found prices ticking up everywhere, especially at Walmart, which had previously held the line on many of the items the Chicago Sun-Times has been tracking for more than a year.
Between Feb. 3 — about three weeks before the U.S. and Israel’s attack on Iran — and June 2, the shelf price of 15 items rose at Walmart. This included milk, butter, vegetables, meats, including ground beef, bacon, hot dogs and chicken nuggets, as well as coffee, orange juice, Oreo cookies and peanut M&M’s. Only two of the items, an avocado and Garnier Fructis shampoo, decreased in price.
At Target, the shelf prices for 11 items increased, while five went down. Those going up in price included milk, butter, onions, avocado, romaine lettuce, bacon and hot dogs.
The shelf prices of six items increased at Jewel while one, Degree men’s antiperspirant, declined. At Mariano’s, seven items went up in price while seven went down.
Across the four stores, milk, romaine lettuce and chicken nuggets saw the most widespread increases, with each rising in price at three stores in the last three months. Most increases were around 50 cents.
Ground beef, bacon, hot dogs, butter, ice cream, avocado, onions, peanut M&Ms, Kraft mac & cheese and Cascade dish detergent each went up at two stores, with increases varying by store and product. Many price jumps were around 50 cents or 60 cents, which for a package of Nathan’s Famous bun-length hot dogs amounted to a 10% increase in price.
Previously, some of the biggest price jumps seen at local stores were for ground beef and coffee, both of which remain high in price this month.
The increases in food prices are on top of price hikes that have occurred since the November 2024 election and can be attributed to a number of factors, including sweeping tariffs, drought, and more recently, the Iran war.
Prices surged after the Iran war made oil and gas more expensive, affecting everything from the cost of fertilizer to transportation.
Illinois gas prices are often higher than the national average because it has the second-highest taxes on gas in the country, according to Illinois Policy. Five states, including Illinois, have a motor fuel tax. Revenue from that tax helps maintain and build Illinois roads .
The annual gas tax hike that would have taken effect July 1 will be suspended for six months, due to families facing “higher costs driven by economic uncertainty and rising energy prices,” Gov. JB Pritzker’s office said in a June 1 news release.
While taxes on gas are one reason for differences in prices across the country, gas prices also can vary from station to station.
These reasons can include distance from supply, supply disruptions, retail competition and operating costs, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Prices are often the most expensive in areas with fewer gas stations. Refinery shutdowns and unplanned maintenance also lead to higher prices at the pump.
Gas stations, which are often independently owned, typically price fuel based on how much it would cost to replace it, or how much the next shipment of fuel will cost, according to the National Association of Convenience Stores. And within reason, retailers can set fuel prices themselves, but Chicago drivers can report suspected price gouging to the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.
Contributing: AP