Illinois gasoline prices stabilize after recent sharp rise
March 20, 2003 — Gasoline prices in Illinois have leveled off after rising sharply over the winter on fears of a U.S. attack on Iraq, according to AAA Chicago Motor Club. War has come, and despite the high prices, motorists continued to fill up Thursday, with some saying they will not stop using their cars no matter how high gasoline prices rise.
"Like food, you have to pay for it," said CPA Russ Cook as he pumped gasoline at a Loop service station where regular unleaded gasoline cost $1.94 a gallon. "No matter how high gasoline prices go, it won't stop (my) driving."
Statewide, the price of regular unleaded gasoline averaged $1.74 a gallon, about 48 cents higher than last March, said Steve Nolan, spokesman for the AAA-Chicago Motor Club. The average nationwide is $1.71 a gallon.
Gasoline prices across Illinois varied widely, with regular unleaded averaging $1.78 a gallon in Chicago, $1.59 a gallon in East St. Louis, and $1.62 a gallon in Springfield, according to a survey by AAA-Chicago.
Prices in Illinois have been high all winter due to fears of war and because of the cutoff of crude oil production in Venezuela.
On Wednesday, U.S. and British forces began bombing Iraqi positions ahead of the movement of ground forces into Iraq.
"There is no sign of panic buying by consumers or panic selling by dealers," Nolan said.
The AAA and the petroleum industry issued a joint statement Thursday saying the nation's oil and natural gas industry is working hard to ensure supplies of fuel will continue uninterrupted. The statement said gasoline and diesel fuel inventories are adequate to meet normal demand and refinery production remains strong.
"Hopefully, the statement would put people at ease," said Nolan.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries sought to calm oil markets by announcing its members will maximize output to make up for any disruption in crude exports from Iraq.
Eugene Frimpong, a pharmacy student from Ghana, and a taxi driver for five years, says current gasoline prices are hurting his bottom line.
Frimpong also said due to the economic slowdown, he has to work real hard to find customers in the Loop, and a decline in travel has slowed business at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.