Recent spikes in the price of gasoline are especially painful in Illinois, where prices are the highest of all of the 48 contiguous states.
AAA reports the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in Illinois was $4.043 Wednesday, August 8, 2012. A gallon of mid-level gasoline averaged $4.189 and premium was going for an average of $4.366.
Compare that to Iowa, where gasoline prices were around 50 cents less per gallon. In Iowa, regular gasoline averaged $3.587 per gallon, mid-level gasoline averaged $3.514 and premium averaged $3.748 per gallon.
In the Quad Cities, prices on the Illinois side were reported between $3.46 and $3.79 in Rock Island and Moline, $3.69 in Rapids City and at $3.79 in Colona. Iowa-side gas prices were reported between $3.46 and $3.69 in Davenport and Bettendorf, $3.59 and $3.64 in LeClaire.
The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline was $3.647. Mid-level average price was $3.784 and the average price for a gallon of premium gasoline was $3.921.
Illinois prices were lower than only one other state, Hawaii, where regular gasoline averaged $4.146, mid-level was at $4.239 and premium was at $4.333 per gallon. Hawaii’s prices exceeded AAAs highest previously-recorded average price of $4.114 per gallon in July 2008.
The rupture and shutdown of a Wisconsin pipeline, as well as issues at Illinois and Indiana refineries, have caused state gas prices to soar according to a recent report by the Associated Press. The report said the price hike was temporary and that prices should drop as the refinery problems are fixed.