Senator Robert Peters

Robert Peters’ journey from a Chicago childhood marked by hearing impairment and speech challenges to becoming an influential progressive lawmaker exemplifies resilience and activism. Adopted by a social worker and a civil‑rights attorney, Peters graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in social sciences and returned to Chicago amid the Great Recession, organizing for workers’ rights and criminal‑justice reform. He served as political director for Reclaim Chicago and the People’s Lobby, helped lead the campaign for the Fair Tax Amendment and was a vocal organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union during their 2012 strike. Appointed to the Illinois Senate in 2019 and subsequently elected to represent the 13th District, Peters sponsored the landmark SAFE‑T Act that ended cash bail in Illinois, expanded voting rights for detainees and overhauled police accountability. He has introduced legislation to seal eviction records, invest in youth employment, address environmental racism, and broaden collective bargaining rights. Peters chairs the Senate’s Labor Committee, sits on the Criminal Law and Energy committees and co‑chairs the Illinois Midwest Climate & Clean Energy Caucus. He continues to work closely with grassroots movements to advance housing justice, clean energy and economic equity and lives with his wife, Grace, in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood.