97 Comments - Former Downstater - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:03 pm: Not those distances. - ChicagoVinny - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:05 pm: Across the street - thechampaignlife - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:05 pm: I hate going 3 blocks to fill up my half-gallon can for the mower. Not that I want it any closer, I really just want the lawn to not need mowing. - Les Nessman - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:07 pm: 1/2 mile - Mama - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:08 pm: No more than 30 minutes away. - OutOfState - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:08 pm: I usually put in 10-15 gallons at a time, so a $0.15 difference would save me between $1.50 and $2.25. I’m not going to waste my time researching gas prices to save under $3. And if I’d be saving more, it would likely still be $5 or less, and I wouldn’t bother going far enough away to get that sort of price difference. So really, if it’s not on my way or close to it, I’m not diverting my route. - Da Big Bad Wolf - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:08 pm: I’ll drive 3 miles to my friendly neighborhood Costco. - frombomb - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:09 pm: If I was able to do other shopping that I needed/wanted I’d go an hour each way. Those of us living in the boonies do that already. - Demoralized - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:12 pm: I wouldn’t drive anywhere. Unless gas is free somewhere else you aren’t saving more than a few dollars. - A guy - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:13 pm: Not too far. Time is money. I am inclined to fill up if my work takes me to a county where the cost is a dime a gallon less and I’ve got half a tank to fill. Always filled up in NW Indiana if the job took me there. I’m very aware of the stations in my area that are typically lower than others. Wouldn’t put more than $5 worth in while in Cook County, just enough to get to any other county. Their prices can run $1 or more a gallon more than the burbs. - Steve - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:15 pm: 6 miles , provided you are doing other things to justify the trip. - Em - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:15 pm: I drive an electric car, so not a very far… - Former State Worker - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:15 pm: 1 mile, I guess. I value my time way more than money saved on gas. - Henry Francis - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:17 pm: My car has a 15 gallon tank. An increase of .19 per gallon means I am paying an extra $2.85 for a full tank. Pish posh. - The Real Captain - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:17 pm: A 20 gallon tank would cost $3.80 more … with a $15 minimum wage that would mean it costs you just under 15 minutes of your time. So I would say I won’t drive anywhere because my time is worth more than $3.42 (since I have an 18 gallon tank). I am also tired of worrying every time I drive over or under a bridge in this state. - Leslie K - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:18 pm: A few minutes, if the one closest to me is consistently higher than others in the area. If I’m already planning an errand or a trip somewhere that has cheaper gas, I may try to fill-up in the cheaper location, but no way would I make a special trip just for gas. - Moby - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:20 pm: I pay so little attention to gas prices that the tax increases went totally unnoticed by me. I couldn’t even tell you how much I paid per gallon last time I filled up. Quite frankly, it surprises me that people are that caught up in it all. - Perrid - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:22 pm: Maybe 10 minutes one way. - jc19pd2 - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:23 pm: Rich, When I traveled to Wisconsin for the holiday weekend, gas was uniformly $2.85 from Springfield all the way to Rockford (Usually there is some fluctuation). But the last stations in Illinois were $2.61 (I-39 North Route). The price on the other side of the border in Wisconsin was $2.57-$2.65. I was wondering if these stations deliberately kept their prices low in order to lose customers to Wisconsin. Any thoughts? - jc19pd2 - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:25 pm: ***Not to lose customers to Wisconsin. - Union Dues - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:26 pm: If part of my shopping was for cigarettes then I would be willing to go those distances. - illini - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:26 pm: With where I live I have to drive close to 18 miles just to buy gas unless I want to pay a premium at a station that is a bit closer. But I am going to St. Louis next week, so I will fill up there. - Perrid - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:26 pm: 10 minutes is an absolute max, btw. I mostly don’t pay attention. - Judge Cooked - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:30 pm: I don’t think it is the round-trip distance that matters, as it is the fact that so many people travel to the neighboring state for their employment already, so they will definitely choose to fill up their tank while in that neighboring state. We understate the amount of employment that exists for Illinois residents in places like St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, Paducah, Evansville, Princeton, Vincennes, Terre Haute, Dubuque, Davenport, etc., that is already built into peoples’ driving patterns. And, then you have communities along interstates that depend on the cross-country traffic that will choose to wait an extra 30 minutes to bypass the border community to fill up in the neighboring state, which then translates into fewer sales tax dollars for the other sales that were generated from those travelers or truckers. - JDuc - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:32 pm: Never buy in Cook, matter of principle. - Soccermom - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:32 pm: I try to remember to fill up when I am in DuPage. But I wouldn’t make a special trip. - lake county democrat - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:33 pm: I have a personal rule of thumb that I shouldn’t value my time at less than half the minimum wage for anything. And I don’t like to be down more than 1/2 a tank. So, even though I’m not that far from the border, the extra time eats up whatever savings I’d get. But if I’m making a run for some New Glarus Spotted Cow, I’m definitely filling up on the way home. - Southern_Dawg - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:33 pm: Personally I’d drive all teh way to freedom blasting confederate railroad the whole time. Holy fumes will get me there. - Robert the Bruce - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:33 pm: 1/2 a mile while hoping the cheap gas near me isn’t adding water to keep their gas cheaper. I live in Chicago but end up in a suburb roughly every couple weeks, and I do plan my fillups when I’m going to be in the suburbs anyway as much as I can. - siudawg - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:34 pm: i usually calculate the distance, price difference and miles/gallon of my truck. if i’ll save more than $5, i’ll usually do it - Enemy of the State - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:38 pm: Twenty-four gallons for the truck, eighteen for the Vette, makes 42 gallons three times a month. At twenty cents a gallon less three times a month, that makes $25.20. I save lots of time paying at the pump to avoid the crowds in side at West Alton paying for cartons of smokes, papers, and beer. Those guys are saving real money. That trip is five miles for me. - pool boy - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:39 pm: Agree with Chicago Vinny. Most of my relatives live around the Alton area and on the 4th they were bragging about going to Missouri to fill up and saving around $0.45 per gallon. - Just Me 2 - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:39 pm: The closest example of gas savings efforts I can give is filling up on my way from Springfield to Chicago at Mile Marker 220 even if I have enough to get home. - Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:42 pm: Some used to laugh about people so cheap that they’d actually spend more money just to save some money. I would not travel that far to save gas money. It would be counterproductive. But again, how many who skip out on paying a higher gas would drive on repaired infrastructure for which they didn’t pay or paid much less than others? - en absentia - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:45 pm: Dear Michael Phillips, Just Move. - Leatherneck - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:51 pm: When I lived in Springfield, but had to go to Chatham at least once a week, I would try to get gas before leaving there. Now that I live in Chatham, one mile. I have noticed that Chatham gas prices can be, most of the time, at least 5-10 cents cheaper than in Springfield. And it would take a few days (or after a weekend) for a Springfield gas spike to reach Chatham. IMO, probably having no Qik-n-EZ or Jiffy Stop stations (the Shell in Chatham is not a Jiffy Stop) in Chatham helps keep the prices under control (as those two station chains seem to be the first to raise prices in Springfield). But I will only buy gas from traditional brands’ stations (e.g., BP, Shell, Mobil). I will not buy convenience store-brand gas like Qik-n-EZ or “Circle K gas” (what’s that?). Even if I have to pay more for the traditional gas brands. And unfortunately a lot of Springfield gas stations that have already been Circle K convenience stores have dropped the name brands in favor of “Circle K” gas. - Blue Dog Dem - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:53 pm: I fill up when and where i need gas. Problem is, I run out of gas more than i would like to admit. - SSL - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:55 pm: Costco is 3 miles away. Not a tough decision. I always check Gas Buddy just in case somebody closer is doing something exceptional. - Beer Me - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:55 pm: agree with lake county democrat, is this a beer run or just gas? - PMS - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:56 pm: I wouldn’t travel more than half a block. I live across the street from the city, I never buy gas there and I also never make a left turn to get into a gas station. Its just not that important to save a few pennies. A full tank (22 gals) last me just under 2 weeks, I pretty much only drive to the L station. - Dotnonymous - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:57 pm: - Blue Dog Dem - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 3:53 pm: I fill up when and where i need gas. Problem is, I run out of gas more than i would like to admit. I run out of money…more than I would like to admit. - JoanP - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:00 pm: If I am traveling for other reasons to areas where gas is less expensive, I’ll try to buy it there. If I need it. But I wouldn’t travel just to buy gas. - Blue Dog Dem - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:02 pm: Dot. I understand. Two of my kids live in the Metro and work in Missouri. They need every dime to survive. - phenom_Anon - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:03 pm: =But I will only buy gas from traditional brands’ stations (e.g., BP, Shell, Mobil). I will not buy convenience store-brand gas like Qik-n-EZ or “Circle K gas” (what’s that?). Even if I have to pay more for the traditional gas brands. And unfortunately a lot of Springfield gas stations that have already been Circle K convenience stores have dropped the name brands in favor of “Circle K” gas. = Hate to break it to you, but the gas comes from the same place. Most of the gas in Central Illinois comes from a terminal on the West side of Champaign that is owned by Marathon, whether it goes to a Marathon station, Amoco station, Phillips, etc. I think the rest comes from somewhere West of Springfield, again, regardless of brand. - OneMan - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:04 pm: A mile tops - DIstant watcher - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:07 pm: If the roads continue to deteriorate, I won’t be able to drive very far to get gas. Does that answer the question? - JoanP - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:07 pm: Just adding: It’s not just a matter of the time you spend. You also have to consider your gas mileage and the size of your as tank. If you’re driving round trip from Tamaroa to Perryville, that’s about 120 miles, according to Google maps. So you probably need good gas mileage and/or a large gas tank to get any significant savings. - Glengarry - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:09 pm: I’m not going to drive extra just to save a few bucks. If I can’t afford gas, there’s something wrong with how I’m managing my money/credit. - Unpopular - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:11 pm: It’s not a matter of saving money. It’s a matter of not giving my money to a state governed by those that I oppose. - Steve Polite - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:11 pm: You can always earn more money, but you can’t get back time. - Strategy Geek - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:12 pm: Up until a week ago, Indiana charged a higher gas tax than Illinois, so did Phillips’ Hoosier friends used to drive here for gas? What typical Proft faux news. Check out the API website. Illinois gas tax is now 8 cents a gallon higher than Indiana, 29 cents higher than Kentucky, 22 cents higher than Wisconsin. Your average Southern Illinois pick-up truck will burn through any savings en route. Support your local road repairs. https://www.api.org/oil-and-natural-gas/consumer-information/motor-fuel-taxes/gasoline-tax - Southern Illinois Infrastructure - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:15 pm: I live in Chester, and two of those stations listed in Perryville are right across the bridge. Here in Chester, where gas has always been cheaper right across the bridge by $.20, this hike has more or less ensured that almost everyone is going to “cross that money-saving bridge.” I think some sort of allowance needs to happen for the towns on the border like mine, but I have no clue what it is. - Southern Illinois Infrastructure - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:18 pm: JoanP- the stations people from Tamoroa would use are at McBride, which is right across the river from Chester. That cuts time to an hour and distance to 50 miles. - Stuntman Bob's Brother - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:22 pm: ==I try to remember to fill up when I am in DuPage. But I wouldn’t make a special trip== metoo, I only drive an additional distance when it makes sense to do so. Unless you’re talking about avoiding the soda tax, I made a dedicated every-other-month trip to DuPage to do my grocery shopping while that was in effect just to make a point, but I’m pretty sure I saved money doing so regardless of the additional mileage. - Involved Millennial - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:22 pm: For those of us in Chicago, Indiana gas prices are no more than 45 mins away. But I dont know many people that would consider driving an hour an a half away to save $3. It would not have been such a drastic spike if the gas tax had not been locked since 1995. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:25 pm: ===but I have no clue what it is=== Same, but I also don’t think corporate oil company chains on the state’s borders should get a state bailout. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:25 pm: ===not have been such a drastic spike if the gas tax had not been locked since 1995=== 1990 - zatoichi - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:26 pm: Gas prices by me jump between $2.50 to $2.89 all the time. A couple of years ago prices were $3.50. Only time I pay attention is when going to Cook County I make sure to stop at Dwight going and coming. Gallon price diff is often $.35+. - Quizzical - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:26 pm: I don’t drive much, so fill up maybe once a month. I pay very little attention to gas prices, it’s just not worth thinking about to me. - Strobby - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:26 pm: About 5 minutes. I live in Chester, I just drive across the bridge it’s about 42 cents cheaper - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:28 pm: ===I make sure to stop at Dwight going and coming=== I stop in Pontiac. Half-way point to Chicago. Get out and stretch a bit. And it’s the town where my mom was born and my grandparents are buried. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:29 pm: …Also, the one time I can remember not stopping in Pontiac I wrecked my Jeep. Stopping there is my one and only superstition. - Smitty Irving - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:36 pm: Being in Sprongfield, not at all. Used to plan trips to Lambert around gas fueling. Stopped that when MO adopted “Ike Clanton Carry” (open carry). - Ed Higher - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:37 pm: Maybe 20 minutes. If your time has so little value, that’s a bigger problem than a few nickels. - Downstate - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:37 pm: I use the app “Gas Buddy” almost every time I fill up. The differences in prices along my 6 mile drive can be as much as $.20/gallon. Gas Buddy is great for travel as well, I normally fill up in Gilman, as their prices can be as much as $.30/gallon cheaper than other locations. For my vehicle, the difference is enough for a fast food lunch. - Medvale School for the Gifted - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:46 pm: When our home rule city implemented a higher gas tax to raise money to fix local streets, the outlying smaller suburban gas stations raised their prices to match the prices in the city. I refused to buy gas from those suburban gas stations who raised their prices. You will likely find that increased sales taxes in one governmental unit will result in price gouging by nearby gas stations — maybe even those across state borders. - Benjamin - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:49 pm: For me, a half mile detour can save me $0.20. That’s about all I’m willing to do. I make a point of filling up in the suburbs or rural areas if I’m outside of Chicago, but I was doing that before the gas tax increase anyways. So no change in my behavior. - pete’s sake - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:49 pm: A 20¢ increase costs $4 dollars more to fill a 20 gallon tank. The IRS reimbursement rate for 2019 is 58¢ a mile. So, 6.9 miles will get you to $4. If you’re going more than 6.9 miles, you’re costing yourself more money than you’re saving. And that doesn’t even include the time spent to drive those extra miles to avoid a tax. It’s amazing what people will do out of spite. - John doe - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 4:56 pm: I just drove 10 miles to save 45 cents/gallon in Iowa. I go there anyway- not many stores to shop at here anymore. - Stones - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 5:27 pm: Maybe across the street but nothing more. - Tequila Mockingbird - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 5:29 pm: I can save atleast .25 per gallon by driving to Davenport Iowa where they have a Costco and also a lower sales tax on other purchases. It’s about 45miles but I never buy just gas and I plan my trips to arrive there with less than a 1/4 tank and other shopping needs to make it worthwhile. If I have room I’ll take 2 6gal gas cans with me too. - IL4Life - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 5:32 pm: My father lives near the Wisconsin border and drives about 10 miles to fill up across the border. I’ve made the case to him that he is making an irrational decision. It’s 20 miles total on local roads, about a 30 minute trip. He drives a car that gets around 30 miles per gallon. So he’s wasting 2/3 of a gallon to go there. Suppose for simplicity gas is $3 in Illinois. He’s essentially paying a $2.00 toll to fill up cheaper in Wisconsin. Okay, now say he fills up 15 gallons for 30 cents cheaper than he would have in Illinois. That’s a savings of $4.50. Great, he’s saved a grand (net) total of $2.50. But that is without factoring the time (”opportunity costs”) of driving 30 minutes instead of going to the gas station at the nearest corner. He’s spending half an hour to save about $2.50. That implicitly means he values his time at about $5.00 per hour. But I know he would never accept a job near the minimum wage, let alone below it. So it is clearly an irrational decision. Not to mention the added risk of a crash and the added wear and tear that comes from every additional mile on a car. He also is not paying taxes in Illinois, so in my mind he loses his right to complain if there is a pothole on his street since he isn’t paying into the fund that would fix it. It is personally inefficient and socially irresponsible. - spiteful - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 5:38 pm: Spiteful is driving halfway into the neighboring state to top up the car… when it’s electric. Seriously, though, if it’s not within a mile, a price differential between gas stations doesn’t tempt me. - JS Mill - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 5:54 pm: About 1 mile. The guy in the story is costing himself a lot of money. - Jibba - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 6:11 pm: Not any. Got too much to do with my time. Better off waiting and filling up when prices fluctuate, which they seem to do weekly. - Big foot - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 6:23 pm: I hate buying fuel. I buy it about the time I think the light is going to turn on. - Da Lobsta - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 6:27 pm: I started driving 5 minutes out of my way to swing by the police parking lot and siphon gas out of their vehicles at night. Why save a few pennies when you can save $50 AND make taxpayers pick up the tab? - Ihatepolitics - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 7:07 pm: I will not go out of my way to search for cheaper gas. If it’s on my way, fine. But my time is worth more than the $3 it will cost me to fill up - Truthteller - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 8:03 pm: Takes a smart person to waste an hour of time and the gas it takes to drive to save $2 on a fill up. - Morty - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 8:24 pm: Not very. People seem to value money more than time. Which I think is kinda weird… - TheInvisibleMan - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 8:54 pm: @Da Lobsta They mayor of suburban Shoewood Illinois did just about that. He stopped in the city owned lot to fill up his tank - for about 3 years until someone noticed. - Amalia - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 10:40 pm: 5 miles. so not like Proft trips. what a joke. - Odysseus - Tuesday, Jul 9, 19 @ 11:48 pm: My Prius has a tiny gas tank (9.5 gallon) so we’re talking less than $2. Even at minimum wage, that’s 15 minutes, and my time is way more valuable than that. I might drive a mile out of my way. - Token Conservative - Wednesday, Jul 10, 19 @ 12:59 am: All of the north of I-80 folks feel very superior here,I’m sure, but who knows how far he and others that far south have to drive for anything. An hour for gas, grocery, church, school is nothing to people in the sticks. - LBJ - Wednesday, Jul 10, 19 @ 6:55 am: Down the street. Quit complaining or move. - Pacman - Wednesday, Jul 10, 19 @ 7:32 am: I moved to South Carolina about a year ago. The taxes here are low, paid $2.27 per gallon for gas last time I filled up. But I found that you get what you pay for. infrastructure here is crumbling, roads are few and far between. First time I drove at night I thought I was in a third world country, very few street lights. That said the weather is great, except for hurricanes, the beaches are beautiful and it’s a golfers paradise. - Anon - Wednesday, Jul 10, 19 @ 8:03 am: If Proft says it, I don’t believe it. - Give Me A Break - Wednesday, Jul 10, 19 @ 8:22 am: This whole discussion reminds of the people who were calling Springfield radio stations right after the smoking ban was passed. More than a few said they were going to stop eating/drinking in Springfield because big gvt was intruding in their lives. Seems to me a lot of new places to eat and drink keep opening in Springfield. - Demoralized - Wednesday, Jul 10, 19 @ 8:44 am: ==This whole discussion reminds== You’re always going to have people throw temper tantrums. But hey, if someone want to travel several miles so they can save $2 then go for it. It’s their time. Eventually they will stop throwing their litle temper tantrums. - SOIL M - Wednesday, Jul 10, 19 @ 8:47 am: 15 miles to MO. But then again, I have had to for a while now since every gas station near me is already closed due to not being able to compete with stations in MO. Also, since I have to go to Charlseton to buy gas I pick up beer and other things from inside the store that would normally be bought at gas station-convience store in IL - brickle - Wednesday, Jul 10, 19 @ 9:14 am: maybe the other side of the street, depending on how easy it is to get in/out. my time is more valuable than $1. - LINK - Wednesday, Jul 10, 19 @ 9:28 am: I too use the App to find cheaper gas BUT stay within limits of where I am at. If I’m on a trip, I sometimes pull up a map with the prices along the way in order to see where it’s best to fill-up as I do get under a quarter tank at times before buying gas. On a side note, I found it interesting how “statewide” nearly all the stations jumped to where they were. Couldn’t be a little gouging, colusion or the like… And, I drove down to almost Arkansas on Monday and was surprised to some degree of the prices along the way. Over the past year there has been a narrowing of the price difference between St. Louis and Springfield, to the point that sometimes Springfield was a tad cheaper. Just a tad. However, the St. Louis area was pretty consistent on the morning pass-by. The cheapest I saw along the Interstate (55) was around $2.40. Yet, that evening on the way back I saw it for $2.36 around Arnold. And on the rest of the trip many in Illinois had dropped to $2.79 and a few cents below. And Rich, you underestimate the power of CapitolFax in that someone mentioned the Shell station in Chatham (above) yesterday and today they jumped to $2.94. Beware the ire of Chathamites for the jump in gas prices (s/n). - Mr. Illinois - Wednesday, Jul 10, 19 @ 9:30 am: I value my limited time on earth too much to waste it on this nonsense. These people must not… To think they would waste all that time and gas to save a couple bucks—and then the MO/IN/WI tax they do pay funds transportation in some other state! - Chicagonk - Wednesday, Jul 10, 19 @ 9:34 am: I definitely made sure to stop in Wisconsin and fill up on my way back from vacation this weekend. I won’t drive out of the way to get gas, but I am strategic in when I decide to fill up. - Harvest76 - Wednesday, Jul 10, 19 @ 10:54 am: I wont travel far out of my way, just use Gas Buddy to find cheapest along my route. To the post, if I am supposed to believe people are traveling an hour or more, which probably costs $6 in gas round trip, to save $3, i can understand how proft, IPI, and the like keep their readership. - Harvest76 - Wednesday, Jul 10, 19 @ 10:55 am: Maybe I misread that… lol. #Self-owned - wildcat12 - Wednesday, Jul 10, 19 @ 2:08 pm: The amount spent on a trip like this would far outweigh the amount saved, especially downstate. I was in the Chicagoland area this week, and it is really expensive up there, but I imagine it was already a lot more. In Central IL, it’s only slightly up from what it was. I think the mass panic was worsened by the annual July 4th raise in prices. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.