Chicago businessman, former mayoral candidate Willie Wilson To donate $200K in free gas Thursday

CHICAGO (CBS) – As gas prices rise, former Chicago mayoral candidate and businessman Dr. Willie Wilson is helping by donating $200,000 in gas at select locations on Thursday.

The giveaway comes as prices spiked to as much as $4.55 for regular and $5.32 for premium, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA). Starting at 7 a.m., each customer at 10 different locations will receive $50 in gas until the $200,000 is exhausted. Gas station owners Khalil Abdullah and Amin Ibrahim will lower their prices in order to serve more people.

“The soaring price of gas has caused a hardship for too many of our citizens. The average price of regular gas has gone well over $4 a gallon for the first time in nearly 14 years and is now up nearly 50 percent from last year. The war in Ukraine, a ban on Russian oil, and high taxes are contributing to rising fuel prices,” Dr. Wilson said in a release.

Here is the list of participating locations:

·       Amstar – 368 E Garfield Blvd

·       Citgo – 9155 S Stony Island

·       Marathon – 1839 E 95th Street

·       Citgo – 1345 N Pulaski

·       Gulf – 9901 S Halsted St

·       Mobil – 2800 S Kedzie Ave

·       Amoco – 7201 N Clark St

·       BP – 4359 N Pulaski Rd

·       Marathon – 340 S Sacramento Blvd

·       Falcon – 43 N Homan Av