Cook County leaders announced the second installment of property tax bills will be mailed by Nov. 14 with a Dec. 15 due date.

Chicago homeowners on the South and West Sides are bracing for huge property tax hikes, driven by surging assessments and government spending tied to pensions.

Chicago’s high commercial property taxes hurt both businesses and homeowners. The result is less business, fewer jobs and growing inequality across communities.

Illinois just ranked as having the highest property tax rate in the country. Property taxes in Illinois are an especially heavy burden without the tradeoff seen in states such as Texas or New Hampshire, where there are either no sales taxes or income taxes.