Panelists and community members at a South Side town hall meeting on violence put together by MSNBC agreed on Thursday that a greater investment in jobs, education and youth mentoring are needed in South and West side neighborhoods wracked by crime.

"When you talk about violence, you got to talk about economics," community activist Ja'Mal Green said during the afternoon discussion at the South Shore Cultural Center.

President Donald Trump's persistent comments on Chicago violence prompted MSNBC to stage a taping of "All In with Chris Hayes" at the center.

"There are a lot of people who don't care about Chicago, that like to evoke Chicago to suit their purposes. But that does not deny the fact that there is a lot of messed up stuff happening in this city, right?" Hayes asked a crowd of more than 100 people.

MSNBC's Chris Hayes in Chicago: Crime is nothing here compared to 1990s Bronx Kim Janssen

President Donald Trump's repeated targeting of Chicago as a hotbed of violence may have brought Chris Hayes back to the city to film a town hall meeting Thursday about the problem — but the MSNBC anchor wasn't feeling the heat.

Growing up in the Bronx in the high-crime early 1990s, Hayes and his...

President Donald Trump's repeated targeting of Chicago as a hotbed of violence may have brought Chris Hayes back to the city to film a town hall meeting Thursday about the problem — but the MSNBC anchor wasn't feeling the heat.

Growing up in the Bronx in the high-crime early 1990s, Hayes and his...

(Kim Janssen)

Panelists for the show included Deputy Mayor Andrea Zopp, police Superintendent Eddie Johnson, community activist Ameena Matthews and Lori Lightfoot, the former federal prosecutor who now heads the Chicago Police Board. Audience members included U.S. Rep Bobby Rush and activist Jedidiah Brown.

The discussion touched on issues including the police shooting of Laquan McDonald and the critical U.S. Department of Justice Department report on the city's Police Department that followed.

When Hayes mentioned McDonald's name during the discussion, several audience members cried out, "Sixteen shots! Sixteen shots!" — referring to the number of times Officer Jason Van Dyke, who now faces murder charges, shot the African-American teenager.

Johnson said the best way for officers to build trust within the community is by doing their jobs correctly and by removing more guns from the streets.

"One thing that police officers do every day is arrest bad guys with guns," he said "We should be focused on arresting the right people for the right reasons."

Most audience members raised their hands when Hayes asked them if they opposed Trump's threats to "Send in the Feds!" to address Chicago crime.

Green said that while improved policing is important, it's not a solution to preventing violence. He criticized Mayor Rahm Emanuel for not investing enough in the city's high-crime neighborhoods.

The show was taped and scheduled to air Friday.

meltagouri@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @marwaeltagouri

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