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At Chicago Anti-Violence Summit, No Shortage Of Ideas

WBBM's Bob Roberts

(CBS) -- Violence on Chicago's streets was the topic of a community forum Saturday in the West Side Austin neighborhood.

Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin convened the meeting looking for answers, not simple denunciations.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson proposed a jobs rally that would fill Soldier Field, noting that Dr. Marin Luther King Jr. did so 50 years ago this weekend.

Iesha Hollins of Austin's Root to Fruit Youth Development Program said the key is winning the trust and confidence of children and teens.

"The conversation has to be had because right now, the kids can tell me everything that is happening in the community," Hollins said.  "If you want to know who's shooting, they'll tell you."

U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, D-Chicago, said any discussion of ending violence has to start with a ban on assault weapons, which has stalled in Congress.

The Sisterhood Organization's Gwen Baxter said President Obama cannot do it all by himself.  She said it means working together, instead of each minister and each politician attempting to tackle the problem alone.

"I'm tired of going and listening to talk and people talking about it," Baxter said.  "I want to be part of something that is going to be about (solving) it."

Baxter said she is "ready to talk with the thugs" if it will do some good.

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