One of the most frequently asked questions in Cook County was answered Wednesday when the treasurer`s office announced it will begin mailing tax bills Friday.
Those bills, which will be due Sept. 25, are likely to contain bad news for most homeowners, but particularly for thousands in Chicago.
Property throughout the city was reassessed last year, and the new values will be reflected on the bills. The bills will also reflect for the first time the new tax rates for scores of municipalities, school districts and other taxing bodies.
Under state law, property taxes in the county must be paid by Aug. 1, though the county in recent years has rarely made the deadline. It usually has had to go into court and get an extension.
But the bills are unusually late this year, the result of a record number of property owners appealing their assessments.
The process had also been slowed because all of Chicago was reassessed last year for the first time. In the past, the city was divided up so that different sections were assessed at different times.
The mailing this week will come later than at any time since 1981.
Tom Leach, a spokesman for the treasurer`s office, said workers were being transferred to mail the bills and to process them when the payments are received.
Leach said the office also planned to distribute the money to taxing districts as it was being received to ease any cash-flow problems.
Some local officials worried that the late tax bills could hamper their ability to pay their bills. Officials of the Chicago Board of Education have already said they will lose at least $1 million in interest because of the delays.
Any payments made by homeowners after Sept. 25 will be subject to a monthly penalty of 1 1/2 percent. By law, the tax bills must be in the mail 30 days prior to their due date.
