Chicago-area drivers feeling pain of skyrocketing gas prices, highest in 4 years

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Gas prices are guzzling up people's paychecks. Gas Buddy says prices at the pump spiked 39 cents over the last week in Illinois, and a whopping 84 cents in Indiana.

AAA says the average price of gas in Indiana is $4.41 a gallon. It's even higher in Illinois at $4.66 a gallon for regular unleaded. In the city of Chicago, it's now over $5.

The situation in the Middle East is not the only factor driving up fuel prices.

ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24/7. Click here to watch

Filling up is doing a lot more to empty the wallets of drivers these days, and even Illinois drivers coming across the border looking to find relief in Indiana are seeing sticker shock. There does not appear to be any immediate relief in sight.

Gassing up in Chicago is really putting the squeeze on drivers who watched in dismay as the cost of filling up, in some cases is topping out well over $100 dollars. The pain is profound.

"Very much so," driver Julie Albert said. "I live in the suburbs, and so when I am in the city and need to fill up in the city, it's so much more expensive than it is in the suburbs."

According to Gas Buddy, the war with Iran keeping the Straight of Hormuz closed, along with a weekend power loss at BP's refinery in Whiting, Indiana, are among the reasons behind the spike at the pump in the last week in Illinois and Indiana.

"Just any way you slice it, pressure from every single side, on the refining side, on the oil side, you know, for motorists it may be more of a buckle up and hang on for dear life," said Patrick De Haan, Gas Buddy Chief of Petroleum Analysis. "You know, prices certainly could hit records if this does not ease anytime soon."

De Haan says gas hasn't been this high since July of 2022. Even drivers crossing the border to Indiana in search of lower prices are surprised. Gas there jumped more than 80 cents a gallon in the last week.

"I actually was shocked as I was driving down this road here I was is, this is usually a good place to fill up," regional salesman Angelo Gelfuso said. "And it's, it's obviously shot up significantly."

RELATED | Oil briefly touches $126, its highest price in four years

"I only put $30 in," Illinois driver Gaylon Lewis said. "I don't let it get that low because, then it costs me 100 bucks."

Some Illinois Republicans are calling on Governor JB Pritzker to suspend the sales tax increase on gas set to take effect in July.

"I really believe that it's worthy of contemplation, but that is not something that you know, we have front and center here," Pritzker said. "We've got a whole bunch of issues, including reducing the cost of housing in the state."

Higher gas prices also seen as a threat to the broader economy.

"The US economy runs on diesel from trains to tractors downstate to the trucks that deliver that food to the market," De Haan said. "We are going to see a vast impact. If diesel prices remain elevated, we certainly will likely see inflation reaccelerate."

If gas prices remain high, it could change at least some people's minds about summer travel. Or they might just have to spend more for their vacations than they had planned.