CHICAGO—Is 2016 the year of the landlord? Transwestern came to that conclusion after looking over the first quarter data for Chicagoland’s office market. Overall vacancy declined to just 15.4%, the lowest rate in eight years. Furthermore, rental rates ticked up to $28.45 per square foot and the firm predicts rates will continue to rise. “CBD office market fundamentals have reached prerecession levels as it is clear that downtown Chicago is no longer in recovery mode,” the firm notes. “As vacancy tightens downtown (currently at 12.1%), the suburban office market is poised to follow.”