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* Tribune…
A gas giveaway by entrepreneur and former mayoral candidate Willie Wilson caused a headache for some Chicagoans Thursday morning, and not from fuel fumes: Cars reportedly lined up overnight in anticipation of the 7 a.m. start time, causing backups near the preselected gas stations around the city.
Commenters on Wilson’s Facebook page complained of lines of cars stretching for blocks. […]
Wilson pledged to give away $200,000 of gasoline via $50 gifts to motorists filling up Thursday, on a first-come, first-serve basis. But from social media posts, it sounded like hundreds of people were so concerned about being among the recipients they treated the event like Black Friday.
“The soaring price of gas has caused a hardship for too many of our citizens,” Wilson said in a news release.
* Some people just love to line up for free stuff and don’t stop to think that maybe waiting in miles-long lines is probably not worth the effort and is wasted time…
Traffic is backed up near 91st and Stony Island as people try to get to the CITGO gas station to get free fuel courtesy of Willie Wilson: https://t.co/8v2USXB01V pic.twitter.com/ngxCJKriRB
— WGN TV News (@WGNNews) March 17, 2022
* But I do agree with this take…
You don't have to like Willie Wilson to see that he has keen awareness of how to make people feel like they're being heard by somebody who actually wants their needs to be met. Direct help gets people excited because it's such a departure from means testing and business as usual. https://t.co/fYvhRv50pX
— Soren Spicknall (@SorenSpicknall) March 17, 2022
The Democrats at the national, state and local levels ought to pay close attention to this reaction to Wilson’s offer.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 8:56 am
Sorry, comments are closed at this time.
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===The Democrats at the national, state and local levels ought to pay close attention to this reaction to Wilson’s offer.===
Tell it to the mods
Comment by Google Is Your Friend Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:02 am
Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he’ll have food for a lifetime.
Instant, tangible freebies are fun, but they are impossible to administer fairly. Universal basic income is being piloted, and that is very similar to Willie’s free gas plan (but hopefully less chaotic).
I agree that Democrats ought to pay close attention to this, especially because Republicans won’t.
Comment by 47th Ward Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:02 am
I wonder how any of the people in those lines are those who pontificate about self-reliance, pulling oneself up by the bootstraps, anti-government “giveaways.” etc.
Comment by Big Dipper Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:07 am
Many not any.
Comment by Big Dipper Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:08 am
“ The Democrats at the national, state and local levels ought to pay close attention to this reaction to Wilson’s offer.”
People liking free stuff isn’t news and it isn’t a viable strategy other than for the Bernie wing. Free stuff is great but someone needs to pay. So promising it and then not delivering it because it’s not feasible (see free college) tends to backfire.
Comment by New Day Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:09 am
I’ve noticed a lot of the lines are predominately SUVs or other terribly inefficient vehicles.
It’s like a poster of short-term thinking.
Pandering to the worst of our patterns might make for good short-term politics, but it’s a terrible long-term solution.
The big picture takeaway is that this country insists on proving it can repeatedly fail the ‘marshmallow test’.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:10 am
==I wonder how any of the people in those lines are those who pontificate about self-reliance, pulling oneself up by the bootstraps, anti-government “giveaways.” etc.==
I also wonder if one of the people who showed up at the giveaway was Blago. Maybe him and Patti and the girls all came separately so they could get 4 total $50 gifts.
Comment by NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:10 am
“Local residents ought to pay close attention to this reaction to Wilson’s offer and find another route to work.”
Fixed it for ya.
Comment by Huh? Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:10 am
Free stuff is always a winner.
Whether it’s gas or a new street sign, or a job. Politicians never will stop giving away something. (Until they get indicted for it)
Comment by Bruce( no not him) Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:13 am
If you’re driving 65,000 dollars worth of pickup/SUV, don’t want to hear a peep about the cost of fuel.
Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:15 am
Similarly, CA Dems are planning to just send people $400 to deal with gas prices.
Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:21 am
The democrats and Republicans need to pay attention but this means nothing. People ate easily decieved by even those giving a gift.
Comment by Real Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:25 am
Send Willy the bill for the lost wages of people stuck in his traffic jam, and the cost of police traffic control intervention. What a dope.
Comment by PublicServant Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:26 am
“If you’re driving 65,000 dollars worth of pickup/SUV, don’t want to hear a peep about the cost of fuel.”
As a Republican, I hope this is the attitude of every Democrat running for office this fall.
Comment by Downstate Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:27 am
==The democrats and Republicans need to pay attention but this means nothing.==
I wouldn’t say “nothing”, but it’s easy to overread this. Wlson’s previous giveaways hardly lead to an outpouring of support for him. Similarly, Trump did direct cash payments to a ton of Americans and it didn’t save him. Biden did, too, and I don’t think any of us expect him to be all hunky dory this year.
That being said, I think giving people money helps them, and that we should help people, electoral consequences be damned.
Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:29 am
Democrats and Republicans will probably be voting for an inflation relief package in Illinois.
Wilson gave his/Rauner’s money away before, and a lot of political good it did them.
We are living through even more proof that trickle down economics is a failure. Corporations got a massive tax cut and soaring profits, but no consumer savings are passed down to us to ease inflation.
“People liking free stuff isn’t news and it isn’t a viable strategy other than for the Bernie wing”
The entire right wing and GOP loves free stuff, as in massive tax cuts that mostly benefit the richest. Except they call it “pro-growth” and “job creators” and other phony terms. The phrase “free stuff” is a racist/classist dog whistle, meaning government help to poor POC and others.
Comment by Grandson of Man Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:30 am
Populism is popular, doesn’t mean it’s always smart
Comment by Heck yeah Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:32 am
Congress gave direct payments which were from our own tax revenue. And I prefer the teachings of Jesus where the rich sells all that he has and gives it away to the poor. Not creating a public spectacle to be seen of men.
Comment by Real Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:35 am
“As a Republican, I hope this is the attitude of every Democrat running for office this fall.”
As a Democrat, I remember gas being this high under both GOP and Democratic administrations due to geopolitical factors.
You buy a vehicle that gets lousy mileage, that’s on you.
Expecting government to step in and “do something” is not very free market, Mr. Capitalism.
Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:35 am
== You buy a vehicle that gets lousy mileage, that’s on you.==
I mean, sure, but as a voting matter, blaming voters for their misfortune doesn’t win many of them over, regardless of if it’s true or not.
Comment by Arsenal Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:37 am
== “free stuff” ==
Yeah, another good one they use a lot is “tax payers.” Who are these mythical tax payers? The people whose ears perk up when they hear it know exactly who the tax payers are. Essentially insinuating that if you are too poor to pay taxes, you don’t get a say in the programs that you are most likely to use.
Comment by left of what Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:39 am
“doesn’t win many of them over, regardless if it’s true or not.”
Agreed that we don’t learn from the past, which never ends well.
Comment by Flyin' Elvis'-Utah Chapter Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:41 am
Even before Ukraine, Republicans were hammering Democrats in Lake County (the County Board) for actually adding a gas tax. People are delusional if they think saying “we need better infrastructure” and “climate change is bad” is going to be a winning argument. Wake-up call but is anybody home?
Comment by Torco Sign Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:49 am
This is a glowing example of how our society is going to heck in a handbasket.
Comment by Hannibal Lecter Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:56 am
“Expecting government to step in and “do something” is not very free market, Mr. Capitalism.”
It’s really the issue of immediate energy independence for our nation. Some politicos don’t think this is critical. Many voters believe this is a priority.
Comment by Downstate Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:57 am
=== It’s really the issue of immediate energy independence for our nation.===
So you’re for solar?
It’s immediate. We can put panels anywhere, go through Indiana, there’s field after field… solar and wind…
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:58 am
People like free stuff, nay the love free stuff. Look at the ridiculous lines the Chick-Fil-A “First 100″ new store campaign would get. Line up overnight outside a fast food spot for 1 sandwich a week for a year?
I’ve never been able to figure out if the fairly common ham or turkey holiday giveaways by incumbents move the needle in Chicago since they are usually unopposed, but the events are still super popular.
Comment by ChicagoBars Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 10:03 am
“Immediate energy independence”
Fun fact, according to EIA, we remained energy independent throughout 2021, and domestic production appears to be continuing to ramp up.
Comment by SWIL_Votet Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 10:04 am
-So you’re for solar?-
Who could be against reliable energy?
Comment by Steve Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 10:11 am
Price shocks and shortages of gas have happened a couple of times in the past. These helped foreign small cars become popular in the United States.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YuV1hHzISI
Comment by DuPage Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 10:12 am
The interesting thing about domestic oil production is that we export most of it. In the 90s the energy companies invested heavily in plants to process sour crude. The freaking boom is all sweet crude. We end up exporting more than we import because we have to send the oil we extract to Europe where it can be processed and import sour crude to be processed.
Comment by Left of what Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 10:28 am
Democrats need to test this messaged out on social media first then get five sign offs from the bureaucracy at the DNC who will all tell you after three Vodka Sodas that they were the key to defeating Trump in 2020.
Comment by Almost the Weekend Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 10:33 am
If folks on the same income level as Willie Wilson paid their fair share in taxes, the price of gas would be a lot more manageable for the rest of us, and we wouldn’t have to watch fights break out over a one-time $50 freebie at exercises in self-promotion like this one.
This is the man of Bruce Rauner, Donald Trump, and Jeanne Ives, because those people want the rich to have more money. But he shakes a little out of his couch cushions every now and again and gets to pretend he’s some grand benefactor to the downtrodden.
Comment by Roadrager Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 10:35 am
“So you’re for solar?”
Absolutely! We use it at two different businesses.
But the typical line worker can’t get to work using solar energy….yet.
People that live paycheck to paycheck, justifiably, have a much shorter view of life. They are worried about getting through next week for providing food, shelter and transportation for their family. As voters, they don’t care about the dream of an all solar world. They just know that the cost of gasoline has doubled in a little over a year.
As a friend in the energy industry pointed out, consumers are most attune to the price of gasoline because it’s the one commodity whose price is posted in 4 foot tall numbers at every gas station in the community.
Comment by Downstate Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 10:36 am
“We remained energy independent throughout 2021, and domestic production appears to be continuing to ramp up”
Without getting into the national issues of this, it doesn’t make sense then why, as a nation, we are asking Venezuela and the Middle East to ramp up production.
Comment by Downstate Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 10:50 am
What people are against means testing now? I mean I’ll agree the people at the edge are always worse off than those just under the edge, but I really don’t know how to do it any other way. People with a lot of $$ (Or even just over a threshold) are not better off and not needing as much help.
The Cermak household did not get COVID relief money. I am grateful because it means the Cermak family was danged lucky not to need it. And frankly, someone has to pay to give our less fortunate citizens a hand up. I have a lot of complaints about the US/IL social support system, but means testing is not one of them (though I might reposition the boundaries and limits).
Comment by cermak_rd Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 10:51 am
First noticed this the other day and now I can’t stop checking Gas Buddy to see if it holds, which it has so far.
Would love to read an article about why Pontiac gas is so so much cheaper (typically 40-50 cents a gallon) than most everywhere else within 100 miles of it.
Is it just the Wally’s factor or something else?
Comment by hisgirlfriday Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 10:54 am
==The Democrats at the national, state and local levels ought to pay close attention to this reaction to Wilson’s offer.==
I think the nationwide distribution of free COVID vaccines should count for something.
Comment by Wensicia Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 10:54 am
“So you’re for solar?”
How about you, Willy? Do you have solar on your house? (I would appreciate a response.)
And if not, then why not?
And even a family can somehow purchase an electric car, it doesn’t help if they live in multi-family housing.
The average age of a a multi-family housing complex is just at 50 years old. Those complexes don’t typically have the electrical infrastructure to provide for recharging stations.
Comment by Downstate Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 10:57 am
===Is it just the Wally’s factor===
I’ve noticed it too and don’t have an answer for it, except maybe a price war started by Wally’s.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 11:01 am
“why Pontiac gas is so so much cheaper ”
Wow. That’s amazing.
Usually in every community there is one retailer that sets the price. Many times it is the Murphy (Walmart) retailer. Then every other station will price from that, usually adding a few cents, or more, to that price.
Comment by Downstate Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 11:09 am
===(I would appreciate a response.)===
What, you think I’m ducking you?
Nope. No solar. “Why not”, my next home will be, I dunno how long I’ll be staying where I am currently, but if it were for 5 or longer, I would, and I plan on having solar in the coming home.
Wally’s creating havoc is merely Wally’s being Wally’s… beef jerky flavors and all.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 11:09 am
== don’t have an answer for it ==
Likely gasoline is sold as a loss leader, due to the enormous profit they make on selling all those other knick-knacks.
There’s also an Enbridge pipeline terminal in Pontiac, but I think that might be oil and not refined gasoline.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 11:21 am
Speaking of Wally’s, not quite Illinois-related but they are expanding to Fenton, MO:
https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/business-journal/wallys-opening-first-st-louis-area-location/63-ea5a1bc8-4e02-463f-9948-25c834511526
Somewhere around the Glenarm and Divernon areas is about the halfway point between the two Wallys locations. That would be a great place for a third Wally’s. Maybe put it in Divernon itself (Exit 80) as there’s nothing anymore off interstate there, or (preferably) Wallys could buy out the “Auburn truck stop” (on 55 and 104 at Exit 82) from Circle K and upgrade that station to Wally’s.
If Wally’s expanded further in Illinois, what other areas would be great locations for it?
Comment by NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 11:28 am
Also speaking of Wally’s, anyone know about that new truck stop being built (if not open already) off 55 at Atlanta (Exit 140)? I wondered if it was Wally’s originally, but the name looked different from the interstate but didn’t look like Wallys to me. It looked like a rip-off name of Wally’s, however. The new truck stop also appears to be an upgrade of the existing Shell station and also has a Dairy Queen on site. Anyone know about or stopped at that new Atlanta truck stop?
Comment by NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 11:36 am
Let me know when he comes out with a free Sams Club membership sweepstake
Comment by Merica Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 12:21 pm
===Without getting into the national issues of this, ===
Umm, not only can you not talk about “energy independence” without getting into national issues, you can not talk about it without talking about *global* issues.
We export some of our oil. Are you suggesting we stop that? That would be the only way to achieve “energy independence.” Isolationism is never an answer. Just ask all the Texans who died when their Texas-only grid shut down.
Beyond that, oil is a global market and the US produces a small fraction (~10%) of the global supply. We can pump up our production to obscene levels and a) it would take years if not decades and b) unless we disconnected from the world supply, it would have minimal impact on prices worldwide.
I haven’t seen it mentioned here so I will mention something instructive to remember. Yesterday, oil was at about $96 per barrel. The last time oil was that price, the average gallon of gas was $3.62. Today that average is $4.31, but yeah, it’s definitely the politicians /s
Finally, I saw someone up above ask who would oppose solar (rhetorically, I’m guessing). Here’s an answer - Florida. You should check out how they completely disincentivized solar at the behest of big oil
Finally
Comment by Joe Bidenopolous Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 12:26 pm
“Yesterday, oil was at about $96 per barrel. The last time oil was that price, the average gallon of gas was $3.62. Today that average is $4.31, but yeah, it’s definitely the politicians ”
The prior time you mentioned is when oil was falling at a rapid clip - over 15% in about two months. I’m not sure you take an instant snapshot without considering the fundamentals behind the pricing trendline. It’s like saying the price of bread today should be immediately reflective of the price of wheat. Unprecedented increases or decreases in the base commodity impact the consumer price. But the price of gasoline, in 2014, was also falling as consumer demand slowed once we crossed the $4/gallon threshold.
Comment by Downstate Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 2:22 pm
-If Wally’s expanded further in Illinois, what other areas would be great locations for it?-
About halfway between Champaign and Kankakee on I-57 would be good.
I have to drive to B-N fairly often down 55, and last Sunday when I made the trip the Wally’s gas pumps were mobbed. Like all of them, and there are a lot. Fairly empty most times I go by there.
Comment by Ron Burgundy Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 2:55 pm
===Like all of them, and there are a lot===
More than I’ve ever seen at any station.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 3:07 pm
==About halfway between Champaign and Kankakee on I-57 would be good.==
Let’s call it at Onarga.
Another ideal Wallys (or any truck stop) spot would be on Interstate 80, around Exit 45 near Sheffield (replacing the long-abandoned Knights Inn). Also halfway between Peoria and Galesburg on 74 (preferably Exit 71 and the 150/78 junction near that exit), just west of Brimfield.
Comment by NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 3:24 pm
-About halfway between Champaign and Kankakee on I-57 would be good.-
To add, they would probably make a killing there on all the U of I traffic back and forth. Also any location there would likely be within 40-50 miles of the Pontiac one for gas/product supply benefits.
Comment by Ron Burgundy Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 3:37 pm
==To add, they would probably make a killing there on all the U of I traffic back and forth. Also any location there would likely be within 40-50 miles of the Pontiac one for gas/product supply benefits.==
Along those lines, perhaps one on 74 between Bloomington and Champaign might be a good spot. Perhaps Farmer City as it’s almost halfway between the two metros.
Comment by NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 4:27 pm
“The Democrats at the national, state and local levels ought to pay close attention to this reaction to Wilson’s offer.”
The correct action is to crank the taxes on fossil fuels up a dollar or two per gallon. Give people incentive to choose fuel efficient vehicles or electric vehicles.
But there’s no appetite for that.
Comment by Odysseus Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:04 pm
Unfortunately direct give-aways also tempt many to overlook authoritarian tendencies in the giver–as with El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele. It seems many feel a pull to prefer a king to democracy.
Comment by Yooper in Diaspora Thursday, Mar 17, 22 @ 9:35 pm
Rich Miller, he made people use up their partially filled tank for minutes & minutes & the motorists risked pedestrians & bikers who were walking or biking nearby. Wilson could give out resources digitally or give away a paid $25 Visa card in an abandoned or unused shopping center.
Comment by Chris in ChiTown Friday, Mar 18, 22 @ 4:46 am