State Senator Robert Peters has a deep passion for public service cultivated by numerous events throughout his life that left a profound impact on him and the people he cares about.

He was born in 1985 deaf and with a massive speech impediment. His biological mother was addicted to drugs and alcohol, and his adopted mother and father were a social worker and a civil rights lawyer, respectively. He is a proud South Sider and an even prouder Chicagoan and still resides in the Hyde Park neighborhood. 

Peters began his career in community advocacy as an organizer, where he successfully fought to require Cook County judges to set affordable bail amounts for all defendants, leading to a substantial reduction in the Cook County Jail population since it took effect in July 2017.

As a state senator, Peters plans to continue advocating for public safety for all. He has helped pass several key pieces of public safety legislation including the Reimagine Public Safety Act as well as authoring the component of a larger package that ended the system of wealth based detention in Illinois. 

He is also committed to holding big corporations accountable, continuing his focus on reforming the criminal legal system, creating clean energy jobs, fighting for housing, health care justice and fighting for democracy in public education. He is passionate about his work and his community and intends to be the best public servant he can be.

Peters currently serves on a number of committees, including Appropriations on Public Safety and Infrastructure; Vice-Chair of Human Rights; Transportation; and Chair of Labor.