"County Treasurer Maria Pappas is publishing an unprecedented mother lode of information about these local governments in 138-page sections that accompany the print editions of Sunday's Tribune and other Chicago-area newspapers….

"Taken together, Pappas says, the information helps citizens answer one overriding question: Why, exactly, do my property tax bills keep rising?...

"As Pappas gradually has been rolling out local data online, some real estate agents already are showing prospective homebuyers how much public debt they'll face if they buy in a given community."

Read the editorial.