Falling prices

Cheaper fuel is a welcome relief for central Illinois drivers

BY SARAH OKESON
OF THE JOURNAL STAR

Willie J. Baker saves his 1996 Dodge Neon for his 14-mile trek to work as a janitor at Caterpillar Inc.'s Mossville plant. He has to.

His $6.50-an-hour pay doesn't stretch far after he pays his $300-a-month rent and takes care of his 13-year-old daughter who yearns after the brand name clothing she sees her friends wearing.

Baker can often be found on his battered 10-speed red Schwinn, riding it to go pay the utility bills and visit his daughter's school. So, as he put $10 of gas in his car Tuesday at Freedom Oil, 502 NE Jefferson Ave., he was grateful that gasoline prices have fallen. The price for regular at the station was $2.44 a gallon.

"It's long overdue," Baker said. "I can go back and forth to work with a little ease."

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline is about $2.71 in Illinois, compared to slightly above $3 a gallon a year ago and about $3.16 a month ago, according to Oil Price Information Service.

In the Tri-County Area, the average for a gallon of regular was $2.49, according to an informal Journal Star survey. Last September, the Tri-County average was $3.10.

Oil prices fell by almost 3 percent Tuesday, dropping below $64 a barrel. Crude futures are at their lowest level since March. Falling prices at the pump are common at this time of year, when demand for gasoline traditionally tapers off.

Scott Carnahan, 41, of Peoria was jubilant as he gassed up his red Jeep Wrangler at Mobil Super Pantry, 2900 NE Adams St.

"Two forty-five," Carnahan said. "Man, I tell you what. It can just keep going. I'm all for it. I'm a big fan of the drop in price."

Naiel Asad, the owner of the Southern Valley 66, 1016 S. Western Ave., wasn't quite so sanguine. The price of regular at his station was $2.59, and he planned to lower it soon.

"It's not good for business," Asad said. "We're losing a lot of money. We're losing over 21 cents a gallon. Every time we drop it, we lose money. It's dropping every two or three days. It makes it even with before when it went up, up. All the money we made before, it's going back."

But motorists such as Dennis Nesbitt, who put $20 worth of gas into his 1994 Oldsmobile Bravada at Freedom Oil, didn't share his sentiments.

"I love it," Nesbitt said. "It's cheaper. I can get the things that I need, like groceries."

Sarah Okeson can be reached at 686-3251 or at sokeson@pjstar.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.