I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about maps lately.

Some of this has come through in writing, with recent columns about gerrymandering and redistricting proposals. That topic – which voters live where and how they’re grouped – leaks into other government concerns.

You’ve likely seen an Illinois map reflecting the recent presidential election with 14 counties shaded blue and the other 88 in red. Land doesn’t vote, of course, people do, and it’s much harder to convey in a two-dimensional graphic the vast population discrepancies between a place like Cook County (with more than 5 million people) and Hardin County (about 3,500). Then there’s the land area rankings, with tiny Putnam County occupying just 160 square miles and the comparatively massive McLean, exceeding 1,180 – more than seven times larger.

These thoughts echoed while reading “Paid to Stay,” Thursday’s in-depth report from Capitol News Illinois, ProPublica and the Saluki Local Reporting Lab regarding federal farm subsidies in areas forever transformed through recent Mississippi River flooding.

I encourage everyone to read the entire analysis at tinyurl.com/FederalFarmTrap, but in the context of maps, I kept thinking about tiny Alexander County, about 250 square miles at the state’s southwestern edge. The population has dropped below 5,000 – a quarter of my suburban community in about 27 times more space.

The report is full of huge numbers: “only about 200 of their 1,200 acres still couldgrow a crop,” or “farmers in Alexander County claimed more than $7 million in crop insurance,” and “the county still taxed Williams’ land on Dogtooth Bend like it was prime ground – nearly $40,000 a year.”

But it was the smaller digits that really resonated: Farming accounts for $1 in every $7 in the Alexander County economy. The school district enrolls about 300, fewer than the middle school I can see from my front porch.

Obviously, “compared to cities, rural counties have fewer residents spread across more land” isn’t exactly a revelation, but the way we think and talk about government’s influence over many aspects of daily life often is colored by how and where people live.

The Associated Press reported at least 50 people were shot and eight killed in Chicago over Labor Day weekend. But the AP didn’t give state or nationwide totals. It did present the city’s 2024 homicide rate as a per capita figure – it’s down 25% compared to 2020 – but the raw numbers aren’t doing enough on their own.

Government agencies have failed Southern Illinois farmers in many devastating ways, as the report lays bare, but the effects on those individuals don’t seem to grab corresponding headlines.

It’s not just maps – though Cairo is far from Chicago – but a vast distance in who and what we consider important.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.