gas price gouging in Illinois...How is it in your area?

[rebel with a cause]

Attorney general looks into gas prices

By Codell Rodriguez, The Southern

Saturday, September 13, 2008 12:29 AM CDT

SPRINGFIELD - Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office is looking into whether rising gas prices across the state are a result of Hurricane Ike, or gas gouging by station owners.

"We are aware of reports of gas price increases in many parts of Illinois, and with Hurricane Ike's approach, we have investigators in the field monitoring these increases," said Madigan spokeswoman Robyn Ziegler.

Those investigators will try to determine whether the rising cost of gas is a legitimate result of the market or an unfair attempt by gas stations to make money off of the incoming hurricane, Ziegler said.

<snip>

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Springfield, said oil companies are making a nice profit off of the American people with crude oil prices dropping by 40 percent the last six weeks while gasoline and diesel fuels remain high.

"The price gouging going on here is awful," Durbin said.

http://www.thesouthern.com/articles/2008/09/13/front_page/25862234.txt
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prices ranging from 3.99 to 4.79 for regular gas in the southern part of the state.

For the first time in thirty some odd years I don't have a car, and am always shocked when I go with my daughter to get gas in her auto.

[susanna]

1. Detroit area (with a refinery) shot up 30 cents overnight.

We filled up last night and it's a steep increase today. :-(

[rebel with a cause]

3. Wow,

They are getting as much as they can while they can. bush and cheney will only be around for a few more months, and they may not be as sure of the repugs taking it again.

[sufrommich]

11. My neighborhood gas station is up .50 cents here in

the western suburbs of Detroit. Didn't Granholm threaten to shut down stations found to be price gouging right after 9-11? I hope she does it again.Edited for spelling.

[susanna]

16. Wow! We usually don't get hit as hard downriver...

...since we have an oil refinery here, and it's historically a little cheaper than in the 'burbs (to placate us having the refinery in our neighborhood I guess).

.50?! Man, that's ridiculous. And I'm in agreement that Granholm should do something about it...seems to be obvious gouging.

[sufrommich]

17. Did you check today,susanna? Because my cousin

in Lincoln Park tells me it's the same price there as here.I think it's going up by the hour!

[susanna]

35. No, actually - I haven't been out today.

So if your cousin says Lincoln Park is up, we will be too. Great. :-(

[Believing Is Art]

2. Champaign-Urbana

The cheapest I've seen it here is $3.59, but it's averaging around $3.79.

[rebel with a cause]

4. Well, you have it better there than we do here.

I think small towns are gouging more than anyone because of lack of competition, and some people will pay higher prices close to home rather than drive that seven/fifteen/thirty miles to get to the next town where the gas might be cheaper.

[bowens43]

5. .

[Believing Is Art]

9. :( Hope it gets better for you

The gas prices here have been weird. At times we've been well over the national average. I think we peaked out at $4.19 at some point this summer. After several weeks of that, we suddenly dropped below the national average. The differences between Champaign, Urbana, Savoy, and the campus area can be huge, too, and you never know where it will be the cheapest.

[dysfunctional press]

24. we filled our bathtub with gas before the hurricane- just in case...

:crazy:

[MiniMe]

6. I fillled my tank last night in Maryland

I needed gas. It had gone up 3 cents, to $3.59. So not bad here. At least not last night.

[tannybogus]

7. Florence, SC

I went out this AM. Stations out of gas. I found one with premium left.

However, the prices hadn't gone up a lot if at all.

[KharmaTrain]

8. Around $4.25 A Gallon In The Northern 40...

But that's not a big spike...prices in Cook County were still around $3.85 a gallon. We also have a bit of a hedge here...several refineries out in the Southern burbs that are keeping the supplies flowing. We have different "formulas" which has always given the oil companies an excuse to gouge.

Here's hoping Senator Durbin gets some action here...but this Congress is dead...maybe some emergency relief after the election, but this government is in lame duck mode and won't lift a finger for the little guy.

Cheers to Little Egypt...

[rebel with a cause]

10. Thank you.

Cheers to the Windy City. :toast:

[tokenlib]

12. Gov Granholm-MI responded Fri night with a news conference--

Basically she told everyone crowding the gas stations to chill out, no reason to panic--and threatened the station owners with prosecution if caught gouging. Gave out the 1-800 number for consumers to report price spikes.

[sufrommich]

14. You just answered my question up thread.Thanks.

[Subdivisions]

13. It's not gouging. It's called minimum operating levels. There are supply

shortages cropping up and on Wednesday gasoline wholesale prices skyrocketed to a record one day gain. If you don't know what minimum operating levels are, then you need to do some research.

[ThatsMyBarack]

15. I noticed that, too!

Here in Chicago.

[Obamanaut]

18. Motorcycle ride today, N. Fla to Central Fla - 3.69, 3.89, 3.89 in three

different places.

[PVnRT]

19. Still under $4 around Lexington/Richmond, Kentucky

The governor has already read the Riot Act to the gas stations in the state.

[rebel with a cause]

20. The more light that is shone on it down here

the sooner I expect prices to get more even. Especially the stations charging 4.79. That is terrible, I don't care what you call it. JMHO

[tooeyeten]

21. not that important

but Durbin is not from Springfield, he was from East St. Louis.

[rebel with a cause]

28. He was born and raised in East St. Louis

but after graduating from college he set up his law practice in Springfield. He was elect to congress from the Springfield district in 1982, a position which he was reelected to until 1996. At that time he was elected to the Senate, taking the seat of his long time friend Paul Simon who was retiring. He became Democratic Whip in 2004. He should have been Gore's pick for VP instead of the weasel lieberman. My personal opinion there.

Today Durbin's residence remains in Springfield, and that is why he is from there and not East St. Louis. East St Louis is his birth place but he has not lived there for many, many years (like around 1969).

:hi:

[Hubert Flottz]

22. Same thing in West Virginia

Price went up about 30 cents a gallon overnight. Even as the price of oil has dropped almost 50 dollars a barrel in the past few weeks, the price of a gallon of gasoline is around 4 dollars here today.

[Nickster]

23. Northern Ilinois here, yesterday 3.97. This morning, 4.15. Just now, 4.35.

[alfredo]

25. Went from $3.71 to $3.99 in Lexington Ky

[DemoTex]

26. Big-time gouging here in upstate SC ($4.75 - $5.01 at Pumpers).

"Pumpers" (usually fairly low-priced) has gone up over $1.35/gal for regular in the last 48 hours ($4.75 now). High-test is $5.01. There were no lines at any gas station I saw today.

On Thursday I paid $3.34 at Costco and filled up two cars. Todays Greenville News had a front page picture of long lines at Costco yesterday. My guess is that Costco is keeping the price down for members and there were probably lines there today, too.

[rebel with a cause]

30. Wow. That is all I can say.

I have not been out today so I don't know what the prices are here now. Just....WOW!

[DemoTex]

32. I should add that SC always has some of the lowest gas prices in the nation.

People near the state lines drive from NC and GA to buy gas here in SC. Hell, I don't blame 'em. I had a guy buying gas at the pump ahead of me at Costco Thursday from Brevard, NC (I knew him from when I lived up there). I saw him in the store a little later buying a big basket of groceries.

[rebel with a cause]

34. At 1.35 a gallon I can see why.

:wow:

[tpsbmam]

27. Asheville, NC -- lots of shortages and prices

range from about $3.85 at Sam's club YESTERDAY evening (neighbor works there) to the highest I've seen so far -- $4.69. I'd say most stations I've seen were at about $4.26. About 2 days ago I filled up for $3.65/gallon.

Last evening most gas stations were completely out of gas. Today I was able to get some at BP ($4.05/gallon), but they only had regular -- they had none last evening so things were looking up. The Citgo near it ran out of gas today.

[rebel with a cause]

31. Again, oh WOW!

This is just ridiculous. I don't care what they call it, I think they are playing games with us to get as much profit as they can from these disasters. They know that when bush leaves the WH and if Obama gets in their game will not be the same. JMHO

[SammyWinstonJack]

29. San Antonio. $3.55 from $3.47

[salin]

33. 3.69 to 3.85 from Fri am to Fri pm; 4.19 this morning.

[City Lights]

36. I'm in Chicago's northern suburbs and paid $3.89 yesterday for Citgo. nt

[rucky]

37. Why target station owners?

and not their suppliers?

[wildbilln864]

38. From $3.43/gal in the mornng, $4.30 by lunch time...

the $4.49 an hour later at this one place here yesterday. But I filled up at a local station yesterday afternoon for $3.43/gal after sitting in line twenty minutes. Today average about $3.999/gal. so far.
:hi: