Paying at the pump

By CHARLES STANLEY, Marseilles Bureau Chief

Brian Beldyga, senior manager of Save A Life Tour, shouts a warning to Katy Atkerson as she attempts to turn her vehicle on a computer simulator meant to demonstrate the impact of driving under the influence of alcohol. Save A Life Tour visited Serena High School Tuesday as part of a national campaign to prevent teens from driving drunk.

Drivers pumping gas this morning at Moore's One Stop Shell station in Ottawa were resigned, but skeptical, about the prediction of higher gas prices as an after-effect of Hurricane Katrina.

At Moore's the price was $2.64 for a gallon of regular unleaded, still lower than increases of up to $2.96 a gallon seen in Springfield, where Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Monday asked Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to investigate possible price gouging.

"It's probably just all political," said Pat Dillon of Ottawa, as she filled the tank of her green Volkswagen beetle.

She primarily bought the car because she had an older model of beetle and liked it. Now the car's good mileage is a

plus, but she said the higher gas prices are not yet affecting her driving, which she already keeps to essential trips.

"I only go to work, the mall, places like that," she said with a shrug.

Jim Sarber of Ottawa, who was filling several gas cans in the back of his truck, said he finds gas prices just too high for his taste.

"I'd like to see them back to around $1 a gallon, where they were when I started driving, but I know that's not going to happen,: he said with a smile.

"But $2 a gallon, that wouldn't be too bad."

Tom Moran of suburban Downers Grove, who filled the tank of his van, was a little philosophical.

"Around Downers Grove this morning I saw prices like $2.79 a gallon, so this seems cheap to me. But I couldn't tell you why the price keeps going up. Nobody seems to know why and nobody seems to be able to do anything about it."

The state average for gas prices this morning was $2.70 a gallon, up 40 cents from a month ago and nearly 80 cents more than a year ago, according to the American Automobile Association's online Daily Fuel Gage Report.

The hike to $2.96 a gallon Springfield motorists saw yesterday occurred after it was reported gasoline refinery capabilities along the Gulf Coast were disrupted by the hurricane.

Oil companies said refineries in the Gulf area have shut down, and transportation of crude oil to some refineries serving Illinois has been interrupted, resulting in refinery production cutbacks and setting the stage for a spike in retail gas prices.

Blagojevich said that while most gas stations won't use a natural disaster as an excuse to raise prices, "there are always a few bad apples."

"Unfortunately, the actions of a those few bad apples could mean higher gas prices for drivers," he said.

Madigan said investigators will visit gas stations, particularly where citizens have complained, and will file lawsuits if unjustifiable price increases are found.

Last week, she and her staff met with representatives of the gasoline industry to discuss the summer spike in gasoline prices.

Madigan also sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, calling on that agency to continue its monitoring of wholesale and retail gasoline prices for illegal activity. She also specifically asked the FTC to investigate whether the price of gasoline is being artificially manipulated in Illinois by reducing refinery capacity or by any other form of market manipulation