Evanston resident continues the fight against youth violence

By Lauren Victory
Monday, February 1, 2010
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It's no joke to Mayor Tisdahl that Evanston has issues with youth violence and gang activity.

“Yes, there's a problem with violence in Evanston. We had a murder this year so there's definitely a problem with violence,” the Mayor said.

The police acknowledge it too.

The Evanston community, over the years, along with the Police Department and people have recognized that we do have gang activity in Evanston,” said Tom Guenther of the Evanston Police.

There have been more than 40 victims of violence in Evanston to date and here at Church and Dodge, a memorial is held every year in their memory.

This is why Bobby Burns founded “We Want to Live.”
His group held a non-violence walk back October and has been working to organize more events.

“We Want to Live's mission is for high school African American males to live successful non-violent lives,” said Burns.

Burns hopes to create a sort of brotherhood that students can turn to for help, advice and companionship.

He's also looking into hosting a hip-hop opera at Evanston Township High School.

“Everyone wants to feel like they're a part of something. And if they don't feel like they are a part of their community, that's when these gangs start becoming more attractive,” said Burns.

The issue with trying to combat Evanston's gangs is that Burns has a bigger problem--Evanston doesn't have the money to support him.

“No, I don't think we'll be able to fund him. We're trying to cut $8 to10 million from our budget,” said the Mayor.

That leaves Burns to hit the streets--the grassroots way.