Comment: Just deal with it, kids, along with all the debt we are sticking you with.

“With few other revenue options available as a non-home rule government, the Civic Federation is supportive of the District’s proposal to moderately increase its annual property tax levy because it is balanced by the aforementioned efficiencies.”

“Pritzker needs to take the next step, decisive action…. Will his legacy be that of a lapdog to Illinois’ powerful special interests, or will he go beyond words and deliver real, lasting change for taxpayers? As a father concerned about the next generation, I’m firmly rooting for Option No. 2.”

On Dec. 12, Emanuel has promised to lay out “options” to slay or, at the very least shrink, the elephant: a looming, $1 billion spike in pension payments.

Asked to preview that pension plan, the mayor would only say there would be “a lot of different parts” and that it would be remembered for its “honesty with the public.”

Rapid growth in downtown Chicago, the destination of an increasing number of employers in search of top talent, not only is continuing but accelerating. In the downtown area—a combination of the traditional Loop and adjoining Near North, West and South sides—private-sector employers added 19,249 jobs in the most recent year, a hefty 3.25 percent growth, for a new total of 612,914.