“Maybe they should start a GoFundMe for the Bears for all the things that they want built around the stadium that the taxpayer will have to pay for generations.”

So said reader FM. In the spirit of his suggestion, consider some other ideas:

Motorists currently can buy special Chicago Bears license plates for cars or motorcycles. The Secretary of State’s Office charges fees for switching to the special style and annual renewal premiums; $25 from each application or renewal goes to the Professional Sports Team Education Fund (the comptroller empties that money into the Common School Fund twice a year).

So let’s start by adding $100 to every fee level and giving all proceeds to transportation infrastructure needs that only arise if the team opts to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights.

Right now, the Illinois Lottery lists 58 active instant games – scratch-off cards – only two of which are branded: the Monopoly game that costs $2 to play with a top prize of $20,000 and a “Jurassic World” card that sells for $5 with a top prize of $400,000.

There’s a 7X Bingo Multiplier game ($5 card, $200,000 top prize) that, according to the Lottery website, sends 100% of profits “toward good causes in Illinois,” and while I don’t think using public money to fund a wealthy family’s real estate dreams is anyone’s definition of good causes, it at least provides a framework for how the team could pick up some extra cash without directly accessing tax revenues.

Perhaps there’s no room on the high roller corner (one game sells for $50 per ticket with a promised top payout of $10 million), but the Lottery is big business with at least $76 million funneled into the school fund and other specialty causes in February alone. Imagine how much less taxpayer money might be needed if die-hard football fans had a chance to play a Monsters of the Midway scratcher.

Both of those efforts would involve leveraging public systems. But what if the Bears just tried to raise their own cash by selling minority shares in the team? That’s obviously absurd when there’s a possibility of getting the General Assembly to hand over money for nothing, but I remain hopeful that a few legislators have stiff spines.

Remember: the Bears have a stadium. No one forced the team to spend almost $300 million to buy an old horse track without any concrete development plans. And most importantly, any money they get – regardless of how it’s labeled or spun – comes at the expense of an existing public priority.

People who want the Bears to move to the suburbs should pay for it directly. Why not give them a few good options?

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