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Kirk, Rush Plan To Work Together To Fight Gang Problems

WASHINGTON (CBS) -- U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) pledged to work together on Tuesday after meeting in Washington to discuss gang violence, just days after Rush angrily slammed Kirk's plan for mass arrests of the Gangster Disciples.

WBBM Newsradio's Lisa Fielding reports Rush struck a much different tone on Tuesday after meeting with Kirk.

"Our senator's heart is in the right place, and our hearts are in the same place. The heads might not be together," he said.

Kirk, Rush Form United Front Against Gangs

Rush acknowledged he was angry after hearing Kirk proposing mass arrests of 18,000 members of the Gangster Disciples in the Chicago area, and $30 million in federal funding to pay for prosecution of the gang.

After first hearing of Kirk's proposal, Rush told the Sun-Times the senator's idea was an "upper-middle-class, elitist white boy solution to a problem he knows nothing about."

Rush said the $30 million Kirk said he would seek to go after the Gangster Disciples in court would be better spent on job creation and training than mass arrests.

On Tuesday, the two struck a conciliatory tone after meeting in D.C.

"This meeting shows that Bobby and I can work out any differences, because we love Chicago so much that we won't give up," Kirk said.

Kirk said he's willing to tour neighborhoods in Rush's congressional district on the South and West sides, and work with the congressman to combat the drug, gang, and violence problem in the area.

"Bobby and I have agreed to tour the 1st Congressional District, and I asked him to show me the worst of the worst, where officials may fear to tread, and actually listen to kids," Kirk said.

Rush said he's glad Kirk is concerned about the issues in urban America.

"He and I have agreed to not only work together, as he said, he's going to visit Englewood and some other communities there. He's going to go on a listening tour with me," Rush said. "Then we're going to roll up our sleeves and see what we can do legislatively."

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