Christmas Present

[Dick Brown]

Henry     As you know, I just traveled from Florida to a spot 20 miles west of Chicago at the beginning of the week . During that trip , which started on Sunday , I paid prices for gasoline from 3.19 in Punta Gorda to 2.97 off exit # 283 on I-57 , 100 miles from Chicago. The prices averaged around 3.05 during the 1350 mile venture covering the states of Georgia, Tennessee , and Kentucky in addition to Florida  and Illinois . The same afternoon that I had filled with 2.97 fuel , I drove into my destination after 100 miles of traveling and noticed that the price was 3.29 where my son lives ( it is now 3.39 and the only explanation that has appeared in the local paper is  "market demand " . Approximately 7.5 million people live in the Chicago area , and their holiday gift from the Oil Companies is a .25 or .30 increase in the price per gallon over competition in neighboring states ( or even from other areas of Illinois ) . It points out once again , as if it's needed , how much greed figures in the major point of consideration for price setting decisions by the Major Oil Distributors .

[Barbara]

Hi Dick.  My brother lives in Chicago and I commented on the prices on a past visit.  Apparently they impose taxes on the gasoline to pay for the road services.  The intent is not only to help defray these costs but encourage the use of the mass transit system.     
Have a wonderful Christmas with your family!   

[Dick Brown]

Thanks for the info.     From my observation ,from this situation to the new tollway fees which essentially double both the I-Pass and the cash cost per toll booth.... .80  to 1.40 or 2.00 to 3.60 beginning Jan.1 )  this is a revenue raising operation  ..good for the state and the city and great for the distributors .  At this time the general population is very upset ....and when the 4th quarter profits are posted for the major Oil Companies ,when City Management gets its usual bonuses and when the typical corruption continues at the state agencies , there will undoubtedly be an even louder outcry .  Makes me almost want to subscribe to the Chicago Tribune to hear the results of the topnotch Investigative Reporters that they employ.....or I can pay closer attention to the on-line edition .
Hope your holidays go well also.

[Dick Brown]

Barb's info is accurate , I think . An article in the Trib this morning kind of verified that . Prices per gallon are dropping slightly .....perhaps it will even be reasonable when I head south to the $ 3.00/gallon range on Sunday .......unless excuse # 87 comes into play  ( 4th quarter profits are low , so manufacture a reason to raise prices before 12/31 ) .

[Dick Brown]

   The beat continues in Chicagoland . Regular grade gasoline went up .25 /gallon today...it's now 3.55 whereas gasbuddy.com puts it at 3.19 100 miles south and 3.05 at Mt. Vernon , near the Kentucky line . Happy New Year ??

[Henry]

Have a Happy New Year Dick & All - Yesterday morning we woke up to temperatures of -12.8 degrees after a windy night and last night the temperature went down to only -7.4 degrees with no wind.  We have some nice fluffy snow falling, but only expecting an inch or two.  It looks like it will be a good New Years for people to travel, so hopefully we will have no bad accidents and maybe our Road & Emergency Crews can enjoy New Years Eve.  As for me, I haven't been out of the house since Christmas Eve, but may venture out today.  As for Gasoline up here not sure what it is here in Fairfax, but the last time I filled up in Essex Junction, on December 19th, it was $3.25.9.