Even before the clock ran out on the fall veto session, Mayor Lori Lightfoot was likening attempts to pass her ambitious legislative agenda to “going through the eye of a needle.”

No wonder she was tamping down expectations for her two major priorities: a revised tax structure for a Chicago casino and a graduated real estate transfer tax.

The rookie mayor came up empty on both, despite a rare and personal lobbying trip to Springfield that saw her field questions from the House Democratic Caucus. That’s something no Chicago mayor has done in recent history.

“You know this as well as I do: In a veto session, it’s a narrow window of time and, realistically, we’ve had a day-and-a-half of work this week. It’s like going through the eye of a needle and we’re trying to thread that as best we can,” the mayor said, hours before the political equivalent of rolling snake eyes.

On a statement released after the Legislature adjourned, the mayor acknowledged her disappointment that what she called a “much-needed fix to the gaming bill won’t be made during this compressed veto session.”

But she argues that the Chicago casino is “still very much in the sightline thanks to the progress we’ve made with our state partners.”

“While this delay does not impact the City’s FY 2020 budget, this fiscal challenge looms large for FY 2021 and thereafter. Thus, the heightened sense of urgency remains. A substantial percentage of the state’s vertical capital bill depends on the revenue from a Chicago casino,” she was quoted as saying.

What about the graduated real estate transfer tax she was counting on to generate $50 million in 2020?

“We’ll put it back up in the spring session. And we created a ‘Plan B’ in our budget to account for that not being a possibility,” she said.

Earlier this week, top mayoral aides briefed aldermen on that “Plan B.”

It would fill the $50 million gap created by a stalled real estate transfer tax without any additional tax increase by:

• Claiming an additional $15 million in savings up-front — instead of just $200 million — by refinancing $1.3 billion in city debt.

• Saving an additional $20 million by slowing hiring to rates assumed in 2019 instead of speeding it up.

• Shaving an additional $6 million from the city’s $400 million in annual health care costs.

• Reducing the budget increase for the mayor’s office — from $3.8 million to $2.5 million.

Aldermen were also told the city’s property tax levy will rise by roughly $65 million — not just the previously-announced $18 million needed to open Chicago Public libraries on Sundays.

Of that amount, $32 million is tied to “debt service” needed to retire a general obligation bond issue approved by the City Council last spring. Another $15 million comes from capturing the growth from new construction.

Earlier this week, Lightfoot argued there was no bait and switch. She maintained aldermen knew they were voting for a $32 million property tax increase when they approved the borrowing last spring. That’s even though Ald. Ray Lopez (15th), her most outspoken City Council critic, claimed otherwise.

“Ray Lopez apparently forgot that he voted for a property tax increase earlier this year that was proposed by former Mayor [Rahm] Emanuel. So, he got it 100 percent wrong” by accusing Lightfoot of raising property taxes higher than she said she would, the mayor said.

“There’s nothing new regarding property taxes beyond a modest increase in the library levy that we proposed back on October 23. That was wrong but, unfortunately, some people picked it up and ran with it.”

What the mayor didn’t say is the fact that, while general obligation bonds backed by property taxes are automatically tied to a tax hike, the city has routinely abated those increases.

Although it’s a political embarrassment to get nothing during the fall veto session, Lighftoot is playing the long game.

She’s hoping that, at the very least, her “relationship building” in Springfield will produce the casino fix she desperately needs when the Legislature reconvenes next year.

She’s counting on the fact that revenue from a Chicago casino is needed to help bankroll the state’s capital plan.

The graduated income tax seems like more of a long-shot — at least until after the November referendum on Pritzker’s graduated income tax. And that means the threat of a massive property tax increase in Chicago still looms.

In her statement Thursday, Lightfoot thanked Pritzker, House Speaker Michael Madigan, Senate President John Cullerton, State Rep. Bob Rita and members of the Chicago Federation of Labor for their help even though Chicago has nothing to show for it.

“I look forward to continuing our conversations about advancing the casino starting in January. With so much potential on the line, our city and state deserve to get this done and get this done right,” she said.