After a Nov. 1 column attempting to balance the comparative value of $20 million in state money given to food pantries against $25 million the Chicago Bears offered to encourage permission to move football operations to Arlington Heights, reader RK chimed in with his typical lilting prose:

“Congratulations in writing about governmental budgeting and program priorities and leaving to the headline, the often illustrative expression, ‘million here, million there, soon we’re talking about real money.’ In the context of public budget, the quote tries to illuminate the practical wisdom of a Midwestern politician, Sen. Dirksen. Yet in a contemporary context the attributed history of the quote is the early 1960s when the federal budget hadn’t yet exceeded $100 billion . So if used in these ti

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