Drivers flocking to suburban stations with cheapest gas

One corner of Lake-Cook and Rand roads is a particularly popular these days.

It is not because of its diversity of shopping or dining opportunities, unless you are seeking a quick gallon of milk or a bag of Doritos.

The key is the tall sign surmounting the Shell gas station that occupies that corner. On Sunday, the sign boasted a magic number: $4.39.

That figure (for regular gasoline and, not surprisingly, the only one posted) has been enough to provoke some convoluted traffic patterns in the Shell parking lot, as a group of gasoline pilgrims flock to a source of relatively affordable gas.

Many sit in their cars waiting for the three or four vehicles ahead of them to fill up, while others, having just finished, try to avoid scraping other cars as they slowly snake their way through the lot and back onto the highway.

“This gas station is always busy,” said one customer, Margaret Rosinska of Buffalo Grove.

For those who have long memories of the long gas lines of the 1970s, the scene probably induced a few flashbacks.

But with prices already above $4 per gallon and no end in site, gas stations like this are a target for those trying to preserve a few precious pennies, like Krys Luby of Buffalo Grove.

“Around five or six o'clock at night, with people coming home from work, this place is jammed,” Luby said. “You have to wait to even get in here.”

The reason, she said, is obvious.

“Because this place has got probably the cheapest gas in this area. So I think everybody piles in here,” she said.

Because of the difference in taxes from Cook to Lake County, the station is also attractive to those who work a short distance across the Cook County line. By crossing into Lake, they can save anywhere from 10 to 20 cents per gallon, much like drivers who fill up in Indiana or Wisconsin for the same reason.

That was the case with a man, who did not wish to be identified, who owns a landscaping company right down the street, on the Cook County side.

Danielle Loizzo of Chicago, waiting in her SUV for a pump on Sunday, said she was visiting friends in the area, so she took advantage of the opportunity.

“This truck isn't cheap to fill up,” she said.