Robert Peters

Senator Robert Peters 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. He saw first hand the impact and devastation of the racist war on drugs. As he grew up, he admired the work his father did as a civil rights and criminal defense attorney, challenging wrongdoing by the police. This combined with the effect of the criminalization of addiction, inspired his work on criminal justice reform rooted in the safety, freedom, and wellness of all people. A defining moment for Peters was the Great Recession, as he struggled to find work after earning his B.A. in Social Sciences from Kansas State and lost his parents within a year and a half of each other. He found his power through political organizing in solidarity with a variety of organizations in Chicago fighting for justice. As a state senator, Peters has championed the end of cash bail in Illinois after years of organizing around it before becoming a Senator. He just passed legislation that expanded worker protections for Black and Latino workers in temporary employment. He has…