Mika Crumekort and their spouse are missing out on a lot of life because of high gas prices.

The 26-year-old from Bloomington skipped visits to see their mom, who lives north of town. They’ve avoided visiting friends near Champaign-Urbana, Peoria and Springfield. Ditto for long drives to go hiking. Plans to go see Mika’s best friends’ wedding in Washington state this summer are in jeopardy, and Mika doesn’t know when they’ll make it to Kentucky to see their pregnant sister-in-law’s new baby.

“Those aren’t options for us right now, because we have to plan where we’re going and when, and budgeting our money, even tighter,” said Crumekort, who works at the Bloomington Public Library. “It’s been limiting, and that’s been frustrating.”

Crumekort is among many in Central Illinois who’ve found their lives rearranged by a war 7,000 miles away in Iran. The war drove gas prices up close to $5 a gallon this spring, though they’ve settled to about $4.40 today, according to AAA. A year ago it was $3.17.

That extra expense means a lot to Crumekort. Their rental near Franklin Park is $1,300 a month, plus another $400-500 in bills. Then groceries. Crumekort’s disability brings another $200 or so for their medications. They’re also paying off credit card debt.

It used to cost $30 to fill up Crumekort’s two-door Hyundai Accent. Now it’s $46.

“I don’t drive a gas guzzler! I drive this little, tiny thing. And a tank of gas to cover the next couple weeks is the cost of two or three of my medications,” Crumekort said.

WGLT interviewed a dozen Central Illinois residents about how gas prices are impacting their lives – from young people like Mika to longtime food-delivery drivers and commuters.

Our youngest interviewee was Seifer Cole, 17, of Normal, who should be having an awesome summer right now: He just graduated high school and, after saving up for a year, bought his first car about a month ago. But high prices, including for gas, is “burning a hole in his wallet.” Inflation accelerated for the third straight month in May.

It costs about $80 to fill his 16-gallon tank – tough when you’re working near minimum wage.

“It was a very unfortunate time to purchase a car,” Cole told WGLT.

Cole said he’s not been impressed by how elected officials have responded to soaring gas prices. He’s also critical of President Trump’s entry into the war “with no rhyme or reason.”

“To be frank, it’s kind of a clown show – modern-day American politics. As a young person, I don’t have too much faith in our government getting this situation into just even a manageable order, largely due to the fact that they’re contributing to why gas prices are so expensive with the ongoing war,” Cole said. “I don’t think they’re fit to be in office.”

Driving for work

For those who need to drive for work, high gas prices are especially hard to dodge.

About one-third of McLean County workers work outside the county, according to Census data. About 15% of people drive 30 minutes or more to work.

One of those outbound commuters is Lauren Morris of Normal, who teaches in Metamora, about a 40-minute drive. It’s now about $90 to fill up her tank, up from $60-70 before.

“It just started creeping up higher and higher, and with commuting I need to fill up my gas tank at least once a week, and so it’s been hard. It’s a lot, and it adds up too,” Morris said.

Morris does what she can. She’s used the Upside app for cash-back rewards on gas. She uses rewards programs at Circle K and Speedway. She checks Gas Buddy to find the lowest nearby price.

“Every once in a while you can get gas for a little bit cheaper. It helps,” she said.

Summer gives her a little reprieve because she’s not driving to work every day. But she’s still driving her kids to their summer activities – baseball, softball, and dance. She just drove the 90 minutes to see her parents for her dad’s birthday.

“It was about $40 just to go have birthday dinner with him,” Morris said.

Kim Burlison from Lincoln is also a commuter, driving the 30 miles to Bloomington one day a week to work in-office at a large insurance company. That’s typical for those living in Logan County, where about 61% of people drive out of the county to go to work, Census data show.

Burlison works from home the other four days a week – for now.

“It’s really going to impact us a lot differently coming up in September, when we have to start going into the office two days a week, and then I think beginning next year it’s going to be even a bit more than that,” she said. “I’m hoping that the gas prices go down a little bit before then.”

Burlison’s husband is disabled and doesn’t work, so they’re a one-car family. It’s now about $75 to fill up her Kia Telluride, up from $50 before.

To make ends meet, she’s skipping some visits to see family in Chatham and weekly bingo games in Springfield. They’ve opted out of entertainment and eating out. She makes sure to schedule doctor’s appointments in Bloomington-Normal for the day she’s already in town.

“Like any other family that lives on a budget, you have to make some compromises whenever you have to spend more money on necessities,” Burlison said.

An unsolvable math problem

While Morris and Burlison drive to work, Murphy Richard drives for work.

Richard, a 36-year-old single dad from Bloomington, has worked in food delivery off and on for the past 20 years. He’s done food delivery and ride-share full-time the last five years.

Richard says high gas prices complicate a math problem he’s constantly working to solve, through good weeks and bad. He might burn through 75 gallons of gas a week. A $1.50 increase takes $112 out of his pocket per week, or $450 a month. Richard said a lot of newer self-employed gig drivers don’t take into account their expenses, but he does.

“You’re still making around the same amount top line income every month, but you’re spending quite a bit more,” Richard said. “It’s a consideration. How much is my time worth to me?”

High gas prices and inflation also mean his customers aren’t tipping as much, Richard said, putting even more pressure on his take-home pay.

All of that added to the urgency for Richard to find another job. A few weeks ago, he did. He’s now working full-time in the hands-on trades. He still drives for work, but it’s not his vehicle – and he’s not paying for the gas.

“I’m glad that I was able to get out. I’m glad that I had something lined up to get out, rather than be stuck in that,” Richard said.

Mika Crumekort, the 26-year-old from Bloomington, said they haven’t seen much of a serious response to high gas prices from elected officials.

“It kind of seems like everybody’s just kind of ducking their heads and waiting for things to pass,” they said. “Honestly, they’re completely disconnected from what the average person goes through.”

Crumekort has faced financial challenges before. This time, they’ve got company.

“Now, everything is expensive, so we keep saying, ‘Oh man, this totally sucks, but everybody thinks it totally sucks.’ So, this is kind of new for us,” they said.

Coming Tuesday: In Part 2 of our series, you’ll learn how higher gas prices are putting the squeeze on many sectors of our economy, including farming, air travel and car sales, and how they are also hurting our most vulnerable.

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