Many Chicago homeowners have been suffering from sticker shock, as property tax bills on the South and West sides have skyrocketed.

Long lines formed outside the Cook County Assessor's Office on Monday as taxpayers demanded answers, and said they simply don't have the cash to pay their bills.

Gerald Soukal said he's lived in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood his entire life. He was one of many taxpayers waiting in line Monday at the Cook County Building, facing tax bills far beyond anything they expected.

"I don't know what I'll do," he said. "Me and my wife bought this property from my grandfather, who my great grandfather built the home in 1916."

This year, that legacy comes with a staggering cost.

"My tax bill had doubled. It went from $9,600 to $19,100," he said.

Adding to the frustration, this year's second installment property tax bills arrived months late. County officials said the delay stemmed from a years-long technology upgrade.

The delay meant homeowners got far less time to plan, even as their bills hit record highs.

And with another payment due by April 1, the pressure is mounting.

"I've got to come up with this money now, and then the same amount in March," Soukal said.

County officials said this kind of shock isn't unique to one neighborhood, but clergy members from the South and West sides of Chicago came together on Monday to say their neighborhoods have been disproportionately hit hard by property tax increases.

Data from the Cook County Assessor's office shows homes in West Garfield Park saw their tax bills jump an average of 133%, and North Lawndale saw an average increase of 99%.

"The people who can least afford to pay are given the highest bills. It means get out of town," said Rev. Marshall Hatch, senior pastor of New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church in West Garfield Park.

Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele said, if taxpayers think their bill is wrong, they should take action immediately to appeal their assessment.

"Taxpayers are really, with the holidays, seeing a big sticker shock," she said. "If you don't appeal, you kind of miss the boat, and you're stuck with the tax bill that is given to you."

Meantime, small business owners and neighbors on the West Side said they're drowning, too.

"This is just a few bills I've got — this one is $11,000, this one is $12,000, the other ones are $7,000, and I have more, and I'm supposed to come up with this money by the 15th," Malcolm Crawford said.

The reasons for the higher bills go beyond rising residential values.

"It's a zero-sum game. When one group pays less, everyone else picks up the tab," said Cook County Assessor's Office spokeswoman Angelina Romero.

The Assessor's office said one big factor in the rise in residential property tax bills was a major drop in assessed values for commercial properties downtown, shifting the tax burden to homeowners.

The Assessor's office said the Cook County Board of Review reduced commercial assessments by big margins when property owners appealed their assessments, but residential assessments largely stayed intact.

"We are just as upset and believe that it's unjust that the Board of Review continues to shift on the burden to homeowners, in particular, by giving large reductions and breaks to commercial businesses in the Loop," Romero said.

After record-setting increases, the Cook County Board of Review has reopened the 2025 appeals window, offering another chance to contest steep assessments

The Board of Review said it follows the market when ruling on appeals, and urges homeowners to appeal if they believe their assessment is inaccurate.