Article updated: 5/13/2013 5:33 AM

Why gas prices in suburbs are so high right now

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A gallon of regular unleaded was $4.17 without a wash at this Delta Sonic station in Palatine Thursday, far above national averages.

Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer

A gallon of regular unleaded was $4.49 without a wash at this Shell station in Palatine Thursday, far above national averages.

Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer

A gallon of regular unleaded was $4.17 at this Speedway station in Palatine Thursday, far above national averages.

Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer

It's a rough time for Chicago region drivers with untamed gas prices topping national averages.

Mark Welsh | Staff Photographer

About this Article

It's hard to tell what's more painful these days, a poke in the eye or filling up your gas tank. We talk to experts who explain why northeast Illinois is in the gas-price doghouse and predict if we'll ever get out. Cook and the collar counties take a hit because the Clean Air Act requires areas with high smog levels (that's us) to use reformulated gasoline, which burns more cleanly.