CHICAGO (CBS) – Have you seen an envelope from the government of Cook County in the mail today, with news inside about how our tax dollars are being spent?

Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas is blowing the whistle on government officials who won’t take their hands out of our pockets.

As CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine first revealed, the new property tax bills tell us – for the first time – how our governments are digging us into debt.

In Willow Springs, there is $26 million dollars in unpaid debt and other liabilities; in Calumet city, $91 million; in Evanston, $333 million; in Chicago, $33 billion.

The forest preserves, and park districts, and boards of education in the suburbs; their debts and liabilities in our mail.

It’s a fascinating read and a warning if you’re shopping for a home: beware that – just to begin digging out of debt – our next tax bills, and the bills after that will be higher than the one in the mail today.

So now we know.

So, hey Ms. Treasurer Pappas, thank you.