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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The Illinois attorney general is notifying several gas stations that they can donate $1,000 to the American Red Cross or risk being sued for price gouging in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
The office of state Attorney General Lisa Madigan detailed the options in letters that began arriving at the 18 stations this week. Officials said gas prices at some Illinois stations rose as high as $3.63 a gallon after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.
"When we're in an emergency situation, such as we were, retailers have the obligation not to increase their prices to the general public over what wholesalers are charging them," said Deborah Hagan, chief of the attorney general's consumer protection division.
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