‘Red light Rahm’ headline says it all

Need higher taxes on the wealthy Gov. Rauner is using taxpayer money to boost pay to his staff by 36 percent while proposing higher sales taxes. Meanwhile, Illinois’ financial status continues to deteriorate. I guess you can’t expect a billionaire who bought the governorship to abandon his fat cat lifestyle. Let’s stop listening to Rauner’s rhetoric and demand more equitable taxes. A graduated income tax and transaction tax on electronically traded stock at the CBOE would shift more of the burden to his pals, where it belongs. Rauner’s huge pay increase for his staff and advocacy for increasing the sales tax are an early indication that the middle class is in for a painful 2015.Tom Minnerick, ElginLean on Saudi Arabia for greater women’s freedomsThere was never a clearer example of the contradictions of the Middle East than when President Barak Obama and Michelle Obama greeted the new ruler of Saudi Arabia. Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed out of the house without “appropriate” covering and the accompaniment of a male relative. They are not allowed to drive cars. Women deemed “unfaithful” are beheaded with no punishment going to the man involved. Supporting such a nation shows the lack of choices we have in that area of the world. Let’s hope we can exert influence on Saudi Arabia to improve life for all its citizens and for others in the Middle East.Karen Wagner, Rolling Meadows