Pritzker calls for $15 million loan program to assist areas hit by record-high gas prices By Grace Barbic Capitol News Illinois SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker announced a low-interest loan program Tuesday to help alleviate the unprecedented financial burden from soaring utility costs for certain Illinois municipalities and their residents. The extreme weather that devastated Texas’ electrical grid last week has resulted in skyrocketing natural gas prices in Illinois directly linked to frozen natural gas wells in Texas and Oklahoma. “To put the severity of this crisis in perspective, the egregious level of natural gas prices would be similar to a gallon of gasoline rising from the current $2.89 per gallon to $289 per gallon,” Heather Viele, General Manager of the Interstate Municipal Gas Agency said.