Aug. 25--Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Mayor Rahm Emanuel are demanding an explanation for the recent spike in gasoline prices from the Illinois Petroleum Council.
In a letter sent Monday, Madigan and Emanuel asked the council to spell out the factors that caused gasoline prices to increase and want to know when prices are expected to decline. They also asked what can be done to speed up a decline in prices and prevent future spikes under similar circumstances.
Midwest stations depend on BP's refinery in Whiting, Ind., and that facility, the biggest in the region, unexpectedly shut down the largest of its three crude distillation units for repairs on Aug. 8.
On Monday, retail gas prices in the Chicago metro area averaged $3.31 per gallon, about 15 cents lower than a week ago, but still 70 cents higher than the national average, according to AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.
"We understand that many factors affect the price of a gallon of gasoline, and we are aware of the unplanned outage at the BP refinery in Whiting, Indiana. However, it is widely known that crude oil prices have been at all-time lows for quite some time," Madigan and Emanuel wrote.
Additionally, they said, the prices at which wholesalers and gas stations buy gasoline fell after an initial spike.
"It seems that retail prices are lagging spot prices as spot prices begin to normalize," they wrote.
Jim Watson, executive director of the Illinois Petroleum Council, said he's going to research the questions and will respond "as soon as I'm able to."
On Aug. 14, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette warned gas stations "against any attempt to take advantage of consumers by price gouging or price fixing."
The Whiting refinery can process 19 million gallons of refined fuel per day, or enough to run 430,000 cars, according to BP's website.
acancino@tribpub.com
