Gas Prices Continue To Creep Higher In Illinois

Gas prices in the Rockford area on Monday were up more than 50 cents from last week. According to GasBuddy.com, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded now sits at $3.05 per gallon. Experts say the rise is fallout from the continued closure of the largest refinery in the Midwest:

BP said it does not have an estimate on when the unit, the largest at the Whiting, Ind., oil refinery, will be back online. The refinery can process more than 19 million gallons of refined fuel per day, or enough fuel to run 430,000 cars.

It could be worse. We could be in Chicago, where according to GasBuddy the average price has spiked to $3.47 per gallon.

An analyst with GasBuddy.com tells the Tribune prices still could rise 15 to 25 cents more in the coming days.