McHenry Times

If you plan to host a cookout sometime this summer, you can expect to pay more for almost everything you need to feed your guests, and state Sen. Don DeWitte (R-St. Charles) wants his constituents to know how much more it'll cost. 

DeWitte, who was first elected to the Illinois Senate in 2018, serves on the Appropriations II Committee and Committee of the Whole.

"Here's some summer inflation information to chew on- if you're hosting a summer BBQ, your ribs cost 7.2% more than they did a year ago," DeWitte said in a Wednesday Facebook post. "Chicken? Up 18.6%! Even hot dogs are hitting the wallet with a 16.3% hike in costs."

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) summary released on July 13 found costs were up 9.1% in the last year, which was the highest percentage increase in the last four decades, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said. In the past month, energy costs have risen by 7.5%, gas prices jumped 11.2% and the cost of food as a whole increased by 1%. 

Chicken saw the largest increase ever reported with a 17.4% price hike between May 2021 and May of this year; NBC News said, citing BLS data. Other meat products also saw price increases, including bacon (up 15%) and pork (up 13.3%). Additionally, milk is 15.9% more expensive this year.

"More and more, we're hearing that there is not going to be a significant change until next spring," Christine LaFave Grace, executive editor of Winsight Grocery Business, told NBC News. "Six months ago, everyone was saying that we're going to get back down to 4 percent (inflation) by the end of the year. That's no longer the case."

Illinois Policy noted that Illinoisans are paying approximately $4,386 more this year than last year for the same things, estimating the average Prairie State resident will fork out an additional $1,122 for gas alone. Add that to the extra $504 for groceries and $208 on utilities, and more people will have to dip into their savings.