Chicago City Wire

Gas prices across the state of Illinois reached record highs in June, remaining higher than the national average through July.

Across the country over the last two weeks, even as the national gas price average fell to $4.327 per gallon, prices remained 37% higher than they were a year ago. After hitting record high national prices in June, AAA.com reports demand in the first week of July dropped by 9.7% to 8.73 million barrels per day.

According to NBC Chicago, In Illinois, motorists have continued to be forced to pay more than the national average even after the state saw a 7.5% decrease in price compared to the nationwide 6.5% decrease in July.

In a Journal Star report, according to American Petroleum Institute researchers one of the reasons for prices continuing to trend the way they have across the state has to do with lawmakers’ in Springfield last year raising the state gas tax, making Illinois home to the second highest gas taxes in the country at 78 cents before any local taxes.

In addition, based on its EPA standards, drivers in Illinois must burn a cleaner blend of gasoline throughout the summer months.

“Absurd. Ridiculous. Way too high right now,” driver Mike Koolidge of People Who Play by the Rules told Center for IllinoisPolitics.org. “I don’t even commute every day, and still. Really bad, and it affects me. Imagine people who commute every day.”

As of July 11, the average cost for a gallon of gas in Illinois stood at $5.148, with Cook County being home to the highest gas prices in the state at an average of $5.613 per gallon.