Fuel at the Shell Station off Meridian Road went up 25 cents from yesterday. And gas stations across the stateline are showing similar increases. Oil prices went up $1.74 yesterday to $46.34 a barrel. That's still not bad compared to July's peak of $147 a barrel. Local drivers say they'll take $1.88 a gallon anyday over what we were paying just a few months ago.
"I still think they bottomed out; it's still as low as they're gonna get I think," says Dick Metz, of Winnebago.
Kevin Beaty of Rockford says, "It's not good, but it's better than the $4 per gallon we had before."
"We still have to buy the gas, so we're stuck with it," says Fred Kirchner.
Meanwhile, the National Commission on Surface Transportation Infrastructure Financing plans to request Congress raise the gas tax by 10 cents a gallon, and the diesel tax by 12-to-15 cents a gallon. The current tax rates are 18.4 cents per gallon for gas, and 24.4 cents a gallon for diesel.