All we hear about these days in Chicago is how ridiculously high the gas prices are getting to be and how we’re now officially the city with the highest average gas prices in the country. I can distinctly remember a few times getting gas in high school (must have been sometime in 1999 or 2000) for $0.879 a gallon.

What’s changed since then? Normal increases in the prices of everything. Mass freakoutage and oil shortages. Oh yes, and some dude named Bush got elected. Twice. Well, once by convention, and once by the Supreme Court. Doubt he’s had anything to do with it though…

Interesting story, too, this morning on NPR regarding the costs of and taxes on gasoline in Chicago. Seems that a more expensive type of fuel is used during the summer months, and taxes per gallon actually go up as the price per gallon goes up. So, what motivation could lawmakers in Illinois possibly have to keep gas prices down? Slight conflict of interest there.