Illinois is one of 10 U.S. states seeing average gas prices over $5 a gallon, which is about $2 more than last year's average at this time.
According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of gas in Illinois is $5.45 and $5.86 in Cook County. The national average is $4.91, as of Tuesday.
"Before I would fill up my tank it would be about 35 bucks, now it’s about 70 bucks," said Chicago-area driver Nick Sagastegui.
According to Phillip Braun, finance professor at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, the price of gasoline is likely rising across the U.S. due to the Russia-Ukraine war.
"As long as there is a blockade against Russian oil globally, oil prices are going to stay sustained," Braun said.
"When you cut off that large of a supply globally, it dramatically reduces supply and demand hasn’t let up, so that’s what’s really driving these oil prices," he continued.
The Northwestern professor said gas prices are at their highest price per gallon that they've ever been, noting that crude oil prices are currently up around 75% since early December.
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There likely won't be relief any time soon, according to Braun, adding that inflation also plays a major role in pricing.
"It’s sort of a spiral that keeps going up, pushing prices across the board up on many different products, pushing inflation further up and so on," Braun said.
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Here's what other top states are recording:
California: $6.37
Nevada: $5.52
Hawaii: $5.48
Oregon: $5.46
Washington: $5.45
Alaska: $5.42
Michigan: $5.17
Arizona: $5.16
Indiana: $5.15
