Prices rising for groceries, gas, housing, and cars in Illinois

It's not your imagination. Everything costs more these days.

pisquels.com

(CHICAGO) You aren't wrong if you feel like all of your bills have been rising. Americans are paying more for everything. If you want to buy a house or a car, feed your family, put gas in your car, or do just about anything, it will cost you more today than it would have one year ago.

Inflation has risen more in the past year than in the last 40 years. A recent report from the Labor Department showed that inflation jumped 7.9% over the past 12 months. A rate hike this high hasn't been seen since 1982.

Gas prices

According to AAA, the average price of gas in Illinois is $4.46 per gallon. Higher than the national average of $4.23 per gallon. And prices rise when you are in Chicago. A recent survey on Gas Buddy showed prices in the city reaching as high as $4.99 as of this morning (March 31.)

According to WTTW, Chicago drivers pay approximately 72 cents per gallon in taxes. Mayor Lori Lightfoot has proposed dropping the city's 3-cent per gallon increase, and Gov. Pritzker has proposed a one-year motor fuel tax freeze. However, these cuts are likely to save Chicago and Illinois drivers only a few cents per gallon.

Groceries

According to the Labor Department, overall food prices in the United States are up 7.9%. Some of the notable increases include meats (14%), milk (11.2%), fruits and vegetables, (7.6%), and coffee (10.5%.)

According to the Patch, in Illinois, proteins (meat, fish, poultry, and eggs) are up 14%, and fruits and vegetables have risen 15.5%.

And don't expect relief for the cost of groceries anytime soon. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released its Food Price Outlook for 2022, in which they predicted consumers could end up spending 4% more on food by the end of 2022.

Cars

According to an analysis from iSeeCars.com, used car prices have surged nationally by 34.1% over the past 15 months. But some prices have increased even more than others.

Illinois used car buyers may want to avoid the Kia Forte. Buying one of these cars will cost you $6,643 more, a 53.8% increase from 15 months ago.

Houses

Home prices are up as well. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices reported home prices are up 19.2% in January from last year. However, houses in Chicago have risen somewhat less than the national trend at 12.5%

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