Chicago Gas Prices Top $6 Per Gallon

Gas prices are the story here — not in some abstract national way, but on actual Chicago street corners where regular unleaded is now clearing $6 a gallon on many routes, and in every weekend plan that suddenly costs more. The gap is that Chicago and Illinois were already expensive markets before this latest move. Now a fresh supply squeeze and a global oil shock have piled on at the same time. ### Where did it start? In Bucktown, a Shell on Armitage was posting $6.29 for regular on Monday morning, with a discount only if you bundled a car wash. A few days earlier, CBS crews found regular at $5.99 in the South Loop and Woodlawn, while premium had already pushed past $7 at some locations. This is not just one weird outlier on one block — it’s a citywide spike with the highest stations breaking through the headline number first. That left a regular up 62 cents in one week, with the city average around $5.07 by May 4. That is also about 63 cents higher than a month earlier and $1.62 above the same time last year. AAA’s statewide average for Illinois was $4.935 on May 4 and $4.938 on May 5, so even the state average is brushing $5 while the priciest Chicago stations are far above that. ### Why is Illinois above the rest? The state’s taxes and other elements already keep the floor higher than in many states. But the immediate reason is tighter supply in the Midwest. AAA had the U.S. average at $4.457 on May 4, versus $4.935 in Illinois — about a 48-cent gap. That spread tells you this is not just “gas is expensive everywhere.” Chicago is getting hit harder than the country as a whole. ### What broke in the supply chain? The short version is wholesalers and regional refineries tightened, which pushed wholesale prices higher. Wholesale prices move first, then stations reprice retail signs — sometimes almost overnight. Think of it like a local bottleneck on top of a national surge: even if crude oil is the big headline, a refinery problem closer to home can make one metro area jump much faster than the rest. ### What does Iran have to do with Chicago gas? More than you’d think. Oil markets reacted to Middle East tensions, with Brent crude topping $126 a barrel on May 1. When crude jumps, gasoline usually follows. Chicago then got the worst of both worlds — higher global crude costs plus local refining disruptions. That is why drivers here are seeing near-$6 regular and $7-plus premium while national averages, though high, still sit lower. ### Is this likely to fade quickly? Maybe not. EIA’s latest data showed inventories and refinery throughput that suggest tightness could continue, depending on how events evolve after that snapshot. If refinery issues ease, some of the spike can unwind. But if crude stays elevated and summer demand builds, the catch is that relief could be slow and uneven — especially in a market already priced above the