It’s a common occurrence for a town’s mayor to make a public plea for residents to spend their money at local businesses, rather than driving a few miles outside of town to save a couple bucks. But one mayor in Illinois is so fed-up with the price of gas in his town that he’s asking residents to go elsewhere when it’s time to fill up their tanks.

The mayor of New Lenox, IL, says that gas stations in his town are charging significantly higher prices than what people pay in surrounding locales.

One driver tells CBS Chicago that gas stations in nearby Joliet charge 10 to 15 cents less per gallon that stations in New Lenox, where prices are charging upward of $4.14/gallon — around $.20 more per gallon than the current national average.

“The only way we can send a clear message to the companies is for our residents to shop elsewhere,” the New Lenox mayor tells CBS.

His rationale isn’t based on just wanting to punish the gougers. The mayor says that station owners tell him they base their prices on what other stations in New Lenox charge, not on what out-of-town stations are charging.

So if people go elsewhere for gasoline, at least one station will drop its price, likely leading others to follow suit.

Suburban Mayor: Don’t Buy Gasoline In My Town [CBS Local]

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