South Cook News

Keith Pekau, Mayor of Orland Park and Republican Congressional candidate (IL-6), recently said inflation is continuing to strain the budgets of residents and is affecting everything, even Halloween candy.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics issued the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) Summary on Oct. 13, which found that prices increased by .4% in September, and the overall inflation rate stands at 8.2% for the last year. In the last year, the cost of food has increased by 11.2%, energy prices have risen by 19.8%, gasoline prices have risen by 18.2%, the cost of fuel oil has increased by 58.1%, the cost of new vehicles has risen by 9.4%, and the cost of transportation services has increased by 14.6%.

Candy prices are 14% higher this year than last year, representing the highest one-year increase since Halloween candy prices first started being tracked in 1999, UPI reported, citing data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. During the 2008 financial crisis, candy prices rose only 7%. "A 14% increase in candy prices is the largest on record by a significant margin," S&P Global Market Intelligence senior economist Akshat Goel told CNN. The price of some popular candies has increased far more than 14%: Skittles cost 42% more this year than last year, and the cost of Starburst has increased by 35%.

"The scariest part of Halloween shouldn't be the candy prices, but in Casten and Biden's America they're terrifying," Pekau said in an Oct. 29 Facebook post. "Parents across IL-06 are having to make tough budgetary decisions thanks to record high inflation. I'll fight hard against inflation and reduce the burden on Illinois families."

Pekau defeated 5 challengers to win the Republican nomination for Illinois' 6th Congressional district and will face off against incumbent Democrat Sean Casten in the general election, according to Ballotpedia.