(The Center Square) – Eight days from the 2026 general election, fuel prices in the Midwestern Great Lakes region are again on the rise following more new issues at one Illinois refinery and continued global conflict.
According to AAA fuel data, the price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Illinois was $4.89, up roughly 22 cents over the past week.
According to Molly Hart, a spokesperson for AAA auto club, fuel price increases in the past week are the result of multiple different factors, which range in how widespread their impact is felt.
“There is a refinery outage in Joliet, I do not have confirmation that’s fully up and running, but when things like that happen you can see the effect at the gas pump,” Hart said. “Geopolitical events always play a role as well into what’s happening to the gas prices.”
Illinois isn’t the only state impacted by reported issues at the ExxonMobil refinery in Joliet, instead that refining capacity cutback can be felt in other nearby states according to Hart.
“[In] Michigan it jumped from $4.49 it went up 33 cents, so all these states are seeing an uptick in gas prices,” Hart said.
The refinery issue that occurred on Oct. 20, the shutdown of a 50,000-barrel-per-day catalytic reformer used in one step of the refining process, was still being addressed as of Monday, according to the company.
“We’re working to resolve an operational issue. The safety of the community and our workforce remains our primary focus,” an ExxonMobil spokesperson said in a statement to The Center Square.
Even before oil is refined, different geopolitical issues – such as conflicts between the U.S. and Iran or the war between Russia and Ukraine – have also caused prices to go up, according to Hart.
“You know, a barrel of crude oil today is at $100 and so it’s gone up from last week by about $6. When the barrel of crude oil is around $80 we see reasonable prices, but when it jumps this high we see the pain at the pump,” Hart said.
As the general election approaches, fuel prices remain a top concern for voters across the nation, and even higher prices in the Midwest may keep that issue at the top of voters’ minds.
While AAA doesn’t provide partisan support or political analysis, Hart did make recommendations for how voters could prepare for getting to the polls.
“Carpool. Go with other people so that you’re not – everyone isn’t going in their own individual car so you can save some money on gas. You know, you might want to even consider public transportation depending on the distance from your home to the polling place,” Hart said.
