What is the value of a million dollars?

Obviously value is relative and this isn’t philosophy class. But the question surfaced with two recent headlines regarding familiar topics: the Chicago Bears offering $25 million to Chicago and its park district as part of their plan to relocate to Arlington Heights and state government providing $20 million to food pantries in light of the looming halt of federal aid for individuals.

The dollar amounts are close but their contexts vary wildly. For the Bears, the relevant figures include the $534.4 million in principal and interest still owed for the $632 million Soldier Field renovation completed earlier this century – that debt hangs on the Illinois Sports Facility Authority – as well as the franchise’s estimated net worth of nearly $9 billion.

Regarding food insecurity, $20 million doesn’t go far in a state that usually collects $350 million for 1.9 million residents each month through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. We can compare that to House Democrats’ plan to raise up to $2 billion for Chicagoland public transit, or consider the overall state budget of $55 billion.

Finances of a privately-owned football team are quite different from public coffers. The Bears could free up $25 million just by scaling back jumbotron plans (the Dallas Cowboys say their giant screens cost $40 million). But in either case here value isn’t understood in terms of solutions for recipients because no matter how much taxpayer debt is retired or how many boxes of pasta are purchased, the larger problems persist. So is there value to the providers?

Does the Lake Forest family that owns the team think $25 million is sufficient to score the type of political points needed to encourage state lawmakers to cough up a much larger sum in terms of financing the expenses of a suburban megadevelopment? Does the governor hope shifting $20 million from the Department of Human Services and the BRIDGE Fund enough to prove the state is acting to protect its residents?

For the record, the Budget Reserve for Immediate Disbursements and Governmental Emergencies is only $100 million. Democrats created the pool by sweeping money from 57 other funds in anticipation of federal decisions with negative fiscal implications for Illinois. We’ve already been told to expect a $267 million shortfall for the current fiscal year, and I’ve yet to find the state agency proclaiming it has more than enough revenue to meet demand.

This column raised several questions without providing answers. The point isn’t telling politicians how to solve problems, it’s encouraging voters and taxpayers to consider how officials communicate priorities and what they think our money is worth – in terms of how far it goes and what goodwill it buys.

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