Two suburbs back out of Willie Wilson's plan to give away $1 million in free gas, Wilson says long lines prove need

ALSIP, Ill. (CBS) -- On Thursday,  $1 million worth of free gas will be going up for grabs thanks to philanthropist Dr. Willie Wilson.

But as CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported Tuesday night, some police departments want nothing to do with the giveaway. But we have learned that Chicago Police will not allow people to line up early and block traffic for the giveaway, and two south suburbs have told Wilson to take his gas giveaway somewhere else.

There were initially 50 gas stations on the list for Wilson's gasoline giveaway, but the number is quickly dwindling down as he prepares to give drivers $50 worth of gas each for a combined total of $1 million.

"I'm doing it help others," Wilson said.

We saw gridlock and long lines when Wilson gave away $200,000 in gasoline last week. It is for that reason that police department in south suburban Posen and Alsip put a halt to any giveaway in their communities.

The plan had called for a giveaway at a Shell station in Alsip.

"I feel stressed," Alsip police Chief Jay Miller told CBS 2's Tim McNicholas. "It's going to affect residents who just want to grab some groceries, impact residents who are taking their kids to school. So there's a lot of issues that are going to affect our community on Thursday."

Miller said if Wilson had reached out to the Village of Alsip before announcing the gas giveaway, he'd recommend going with gift cards instead.

"We can offer alternative locations that might be better suited, or other options such as the gas card giveaway," Miller said.

Wilsons said he feels gift cards or other giveaway methods could result in fraud.

He added: "I'm not going to let anybody – I mean, literally anybody - tell me how to spend my money. If they want to do something, spend their own money and go out and do it."

Wilson said Tuesday night that if people are willing to sit and wait, then there's a need – emphasizing that people need gas in their cars to get to work and can't afford it.

He also said he will not rule out a third gas giveaway.

"I'm probably going have to do it again, because gas prices are supposed to go up," Wilson said, "and if it goes up, I'm compelled to help."

On Thursday, 21 gas stations in Chicago will participate. The other 25 are throughout Cook County.

In Chicago, there are a few restrictions, most notably that vehicles will not be allowed to line up early. Police are attempting 400 cars per gas station, and Chicago Police officers will help with traffic flow.

Chief Miller said he expected the gas giveaway to cost Alsip at least $10,000 in police overtime and manpower. CBS 2's Terry asked Wilson why he isn't paying for police OT too.

"I'm a taxpayer. I pay a lot of taxes for a lot of years, you know?" he said. "So no. I'm a citizen."

Wilson also said he is hiring 200 more people to help pump the gas.

Other stations have also backed out of the $1 million gas giveaway – including two Thornton stations, in Dixmoor and Bellwood, and a Citgo station in Bridgeport.  

Thursday's gas giveaway will start at 7 a.m. at the following local gas stations. The rules are simple. Pull up to a participating gas station, and fill up your tank with up to $50 worth of gas.

The giveaway will last until the $1 million cap is hit.

1. BP - 11040 S. Pulaski Rd., Oak Lawn
2. Shell, 5230 S. Western Av., Chicago
3. BP, 342 E. 35th St., Chicago
4. Super Save, 48 E. Garfield Blvd., Chicago
5. Shell, 6434 W. Archer Av., Chicago
6. Citgo, 6700 S Cottage Grove Av, Chicago
7. BP, 7600 S. South Chicago Av., Chicago
8. Clark, 1201 W. 87th St, Chicago
9. Gulf, 9901 S. Halsted St., Chicago
10. Super Save, 9452 S. Cottage Grove Av., Chicago
11. Super Save, 11100 S. State St., Chicago
12. BP, 4401 W. 55th St, Chicago, IL
13. Amoco, 7210 N. Clark St., Chicago
14. Citgo, 1345 N. Pulaski Rd, Chicago
15. Marathon, 340 S Sacramento Blvd, Chicago
16. Amoco, 4401 W. Roosevelt Rd, Chicago
17. Citgo, 5103 W. Madison St., Chicago
18. Citgo, 5150 W. Chicago Av., Chicago
19. BP, 3955 N. Western Av., Chicago
20. Shell, 6129 W. North Av., Chicago
21. Super Save, 101 W. Madison, Maywood
22. Mobil, 1950 Green Bay Rd, Evanston
23. Shell, 3901 S. Harlem Av., Stickney
24. Falcon, 18280 S. Pulaski Rd., Country Club Hills
25. BP, 17450 S. Kedzie Av., Hazel Crest
26. Citgo, 13801 S. Halsted St., Riverdale
27. Exxon Mobil, 1421 E Sibley Blvd, Dolton
28. BP, 15857 S. Halsted St., Harvey
29. GoLo, 4005 W. 135th, Robbins
30. Citgo, 11901 S. Marshfield Av., Calumet Park
31. Shell, 385 Sauk Trail, Park Forest
32. Falcon, 8702 S. Roberts Rd., Hickory Hills
33. Citgo, 15221 S. Halsted St., Phoenix
34. BP, 11201 W. Cermak Rd., Westchester
35. Phillips, 9340 Irving Park Rd., Schiller Park
36. Amoco, 1700 N. Mannheim, Stone Park
37. BP, 5201 W. Cermak Rd, Cicero
38. Mobil, 1101 N. LaGrange Rd., LaGrange Park
39. Mobil, 9401 W. Higgins, Rosemont
40. BP, 5548 W. 159th, Oak Forest
41. BP, 17th & Bataan, Broadview
42. BP, 1309 N. 25th, Melrose Park
43. Shell, 4555 N. Nagle, Harwood Heights
44. Shell, 2474 Thatcher, River Grove
45. Shell, 2401 Lincoln Hwy, Olympia Fields
46. BP, 1601 Oak Park, Berwyn

In:
• Gas Prices
• Alsip
• Willie Wilson

Jermont Terry

Jermont Terry joined the CBS 2 team in October 2019. He's born and raised on Chicago's South Side. He's happy to return home to report on his community after 18 years of uncovering stories across the country.

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