Rising gas prices in the Chicago area: The Rundown
Good afternoon! It’s Thursday, and I’m thankful for everyone who voted for WBEZ as Chicago’s top radio station. Here’s what you need to know today.
1. Chicagoans are nervous about gas prices as the Iran war disrupts the supply chain
It took less than a week for gas prices to spike after the U.S and Israel launched a major attack on Iran over the weekend, my colleague Mariah Rush reports.
As the war continues, Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf where about a fifth of the world’s oil passes through. Any disruption to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is highly disruptive to oil shipments.
Yesterday, the average price in Chicago for a regular gallon of gas was 17 cents higher than the previous week at $3.51, according to AAA. The national average was $3.20, up 20 cents compared to the week prior.
Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, predicts average gas prices may go up further by 10 cents or 20 cents. He added that another increase will happen during the required annual transition to “summer” gas.
Chicago’s average gas price remains about 12 cents lower compared to this time last year. Still, the recent double-digit spike concerns some Chicago-area residents; Nahva Bropleh of Portage Park works as a real estate leasing agent and estimates driving his 2021 Kia Soul about 20 miles per day for his job. If gas prices climb, he said he anticipates cutting back on date nights and recreational travel. [Chicago Sun-Times]
On Greenwood Avenue, just south of 67th Street, you’ll find a “who’s who” of mayors, civil rights leaders, athletes, scientists and businesspeople, along with Chicagoans from nearly every walk of life.
This week, Oak Woods Cemetery’s solemn, historic and picturesque grounds will become Jackson’s final resting place, Chicago Sun-Times architecture columnist Lee Bey reports.
Wanting to create burial grounds that befitted a metropolis on the rise in the 1800s, the Oak Woods Cemetery Association hired Prussian-born landscape gardener Adolph Strauch, who helped revolutionize 19th-century cemetery design the way Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux improved parks architecture.
“Graceland Cemetery [on the North Side] is very well-known and casts a very long shadow and is one of those places where, if you’re looking at historic cemeteries in the U.S., is sort of in that top 10,” said Charles Birnbaum, president and CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based Cultural Landscape Foundation. “But Oak Woods is yet another great cemetery of substantial scale that is part of the city’s unrivaled historic fabric.” [Chicago Sun-Times]
WBEZ will provide live special coverage of Jackson's funeral starting at 11 a.m. tomorrow. Tune into 91.5 FM or WBEZ.org.
3. A Berwyn mosque is the Midwest’s first geared toward Latino Muslims
The Ojala Islamic Center opened Feb. 17, the first day of Ramadan, in a former church, my colleague Michael Puente reports for WBEZ.
“We knew eight years ago, when we started this work, that there was a need,” director Imam Christopher AbdulKareem Pavlicek said. “As we continue to do work in the community, the community just started growing at such a rapid rate. We didn’t necessarily have places to meet on our own. Having this place, it was a perfect time for us.”
Latinos make up a small but growing part of the Muslim population in the U.S., with Pew Research polls showing practicing members of the faith rose from 6% to 8% between 2011 and 2017. [WBEZ]
Though the 30-year-old Finnish conductor and cellist will not officially be in his CSO music director role until the following season, Mäkelä is already helping shape what gets played inside Orchestra Hall.
As WBEZ’s Courtney Kueppers reports, that includes William Walton “Belshazzar’s Feast,” which Mäkelä will conduct in October. “It’s an incredible masterpiece. If I would buy a ticket to one concert, that would be the concert,” said Mäkelä, in town now to conduct a showcase of 20th-century compositions, including Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring.”
Together, the 2026-27 season represents an era of new music. Other contemporary works making their CSO premieres include Julia Wolfe’s “Liberty Bell,” Arturo Márquez’s “Fandango” and Philip Glass’ “The Light.”
You can see more highlights in the link. [WBEZ]
5. Yes, you can still bootstrap theater in Chicago. This Chekhov-loving baseball coach proves it
Spencer Huffman was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, and in many ways is an outsider breaking into Chicago’s close-knit theater community. He first made a name for himself staging shows in nontraditional spaces such as a factory. He coached sports, including varsity baseball at the Latin School of Chicago, to make enough money to stage plays and pay actors.
Now, for the first time, his company is staging a play in a traditional theater. “The Shape of the Bones,” which Huffman wrote, runs at Theater Wit through March 22.
That Huffman has been able to stage shows and recruit top tier actors proves Chicago’s reputation as a city where you can bootstrap your way to success in theater remains intact — despite credible fears the arts scene has contracted post COVID-19. [WBEZ]
Here’s what else is happening
- President Donald Trump said he wants to be involved in picking Iran’s next leader. [AP]
- Kristi Noem will step down as homeland security secretary, with Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin nominated to replace her, Trump said. [NBC News]
- Just in case you feared an asteroid would crash into the moon in 2032, NASA said there is now zero chance of that happening. [AP]
- Chicago-set series “The Bear” will end after Season 5 on FX. [Deadline]
Oh, and one more thing …
A quick WBEZ programming note:
Now at 7 a.m. every Sunday on WBEZ, “World Review with Ivo Daalder” will bring together a group of veteran international journalists and experts to talk about what’s happening globally, why it matters and what comes next.
Daalder is a former U.S. Ambassador to NATO and former President of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
“World Review with Ivo Daalder” is produced by the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs from Harvard Kennedy School, in cooperation with WBEZ.
Listen for “World Review” on Sunday mornings on WBEZ.org or 91.5 FM. You’ll still find “Hidden Brain” at 7 p.m. on Sunday nights. Here’s our full program schedule.
Tell me something good …
What was your favorite movie acting performance from the past year?
Jerry writes:
“Jessie Buckley was awesome in ‘Hamnet,’ but Kate Hudson in ‘Song Sung Blue’ was my favorite.”
Feel free to email me, and your response may be included in the newsletter this week.
Discussion in the ATmosphere