UPDATE: Wilson gas giveaway at Hickory Hills Falcon Fuel, Oak Lawn BP

From staff reports

Chicago businessman Willie Wilson created massive traffic jams last week when he gave away $200,000 in free gasoline. So, he’s doing it again this week including at stations in Hickory Hills, Oak Lawn and Stickney.

Wilson upped the ante from last week and announced he will be giving away $1 million in free gas Thursday, and this time he’s including suburban gas stations in the event, including the Falcon Fuel station at 8702 S. Roberts Road. Hickory Hills police will be on hand to help manage expected heavy traffic.

Late additions include the BP at 11040 S. Pulaski Road in Oak Lawn and the Shell station at 3901 S. Harlem Ave. in Stickney.

Hickory Hills Police Chief Charles Hobart issued the following alert: “We are issuing a traffic alert for Thursday, March 24, from 6 a.m. to noon, for the area of 87th Street and Roberts Road. The gas station on that corner, Falcon Fuel, is hosting a free fuel giveaway that starts at 7 a.m. and we anticipate a heavy traffic burden in the area from people taking advantage of the offer. The intersection is already under traffic pressure from the I-294 project and this event will exacerbate the traffic problem. We encourage everyone to avoid the area and utilize alternate routes if possible. For east/west traffic, we encourage you to utilize 79th Street or 95th Street and for north/south traffic, we encourage you to utilize 88th Avenue or Harlem Avenue. Please drive safely.”

Drivers will be able to head to Falcon Fuel and 49 other gas stations in Chicago and the suburbs to each get $50 worth of gas starting at 7 a.m. Thursday. The event will run until $1 million worth of gas has been given away, according to a Wilson news release.

The philanthropist, who made millions selling medical supplies, gave away $200,000 worth of free gas at 10 stations in Chicago on March 17. People lined up at gas stations starting as early as 1:30 a.m. to get in line.

“Whether you’re poor, rich, medium — people are struggling, you know?” Wilson told a crowd of reporters last Thursday. “We wanted to make sure we covered all neighborhoods, so that’s what we did.”

That event led to widespread traffic congestion across the city, but plans are in place to avoid similar gridlock this week.

“We don’t want this good deed to get messed up or marred down by people complaining about they can’t get to where they need to go, so we’re working with the requisite agencies to make sure we have a better flow of traffic … not that much disruption,” said Richard Boykin, a former Cook County Board commissioner who is helping Wilson with the giveaway.

Other area stations taking part in the giveaway include: Shell station at 6434 W. Archer Ave. in Chicago’s Garfield Ridge community, the BP at 4401 W. 55th St. in Chicago’s West Elsdon community, the Shell station at 5230 S. Western Ave. in Gage Park, and the Mobil at 1101 N. LaGrange Road in LaGrange Park.