CHICAGO – Earlier this week, the US Department of Energy announced $115 million grants for quantum research centers at two facilitates affiliated with the University of Chicago. State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago), who represents the area including the university, is excited and hopeful about the future prospects the grants bring to the district as well as the state as a whole.

“These grants are going to put the University of Chicago and the state of Illinois at the forefront of quantum sciences and research,” Peters said. “Much like how the region of California known as ‘Silicon Valley’ became the hub of technological advances, these grants will make Illinois the place to be when it comes to the emerging field of quantum sciences.”

CHICAGO – President Trump’s Department of Homeland Security is making preparations to send 150 federal agents to Chicago next weekend for unknown duties. In response, State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) released the following statement:

“President Trump needs to keep his secret federal police out of our city. We’ve seen how they have been treating protesters in Portland. We do not want that here. That is not how to deliver justice or offer support to our communities. This is not the solution.

The President continues to fail us when it comes to the pandemic, when it comes to the economic crisis, and when it comes to the crisis of systemic racism. Sending a force of federal agents with no stated objective into communities they are unfamiliar with is not only begging for more failure, but also poses an active danger to people’s lives. You must cancel the plan to send your secret federal police to Chicago.”

CHICAGO – Earlier this week, the US Supreme Court lifted a stay of execution of federal prisoners, leading the way for the state of Indiana to conduct the first federal use of capital punishment in 17 years. In response, State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago), who has long been an advocate for prison and criminal justice reform, issued the following statement:

“In a time when hundreds of thousands of people are dying from a viral pandemic, we should be looking to lower the number of deaths, not unnecessarily add to them. Even if we ignore the fact that many prisoners who are executed are innocent, executing people for crimes is extremely inhumane and barbaric and it has no place in modern society. The Supreme Court’s decision to allow it is shameful. It should not only be reversed, but the death penalty should be fully abolished at the federal level.”

CHICAGO – As communities continue to recover from the ongoing novel coronavirus crisis, State Senator Robert Peters (D-Chicago) is encouraging organizations specializing in relief efforts like housing assistance and mental health support to apply for a grant from the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.

“In many ways, COVID-19 has hit Black and Brown communities much harder than other communities,” Peters said. “The ICJIA grants will help organizations that are providing support in these communities and make it easier for them to do the job they’ve set out to do.”