Chicago City Wire

With some oil producers paying for others to bring tankers to haul away oil from Texas and Oklahoma in April, gas prices took a precipitous fall for Illinois motorists. 

At one point in Chicago, drivers were close to paying as much in gas taxes as they did for gas.

In Illinois, the state average for a tank of gas dipped to $1.82 per gallon on April 21, according to Illinois Policy. Of that, motorists in Chicago were paying 81 cents per gallon in taxes, which was 44% of the price. Had gas prices reached $1.57 in Chicago, the taxes would have been equal to the price of gas, according to Illinois Policy. 

In Illinois, every gallon of gas has a 38-cent state gas tax and 18 cents added for the federal fuel fee, according to Illinois Policy. In Cook County, 6 cents are added per gallon and in Chicago 5 cents more are added. 

Illinois has the third-highest gas taxes and fees in the nation, with an average expense of 55 cents per gallon, the Tax Foundation's 2019 survey showed. 

As the economic effects of the COVID-19 shutdown took hold in Texas and Oklahoma, storage facilities had filled up. That had producers offering anyone with tankers $37.63 per barrel to take away oil, according to Illinois Policy. 

Oil and gas prices have since rebounded, with West Texas Intermediate crude selling for $33.03 per gallon in mid-May. According to GasBuddy.com, May 18 fuel prices in Illinois ranged from $2.02 per gallon in Rockford to $2.11 in Peoria, $2.18 in Champaign and $2.31 in Chicago.