In 2021, Illinois became the first state in the country to eliminate cash bail. The person who made that happen wasn’t a governor or a presidential candidate. It was Robert Peters, a state senator from the South Side of Chicago who had spent years organizing in communities where people sat in jail cells not because they were dangerous, but because they were broke.
Now Peters is running for Congress in Illinois’ 2nd Congressional District, and if you want to understand what kind of representative he’d be, look at what he already did from Springfield.
Who Is Robert Peters?
Peters was born in Chicago on April 26, 1985, and raised by his adoptive parents, Thomas and Cynthia Peters. His father was a civil rights lawyer who argued cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. His mother was a social worker. That combination of legal advocacy and community care shaped everything Peters would go on to do.
What many people don’t know: Peters was born deaf and with a speech impediment. He didn’t regain full hearing until age 8, and full speech capability came at age 12. That experience of navigating the world differently, of having to fight just to be heard, gave him a perspective that most politicians never develop.
Peters attended Kansas State University and later became a community organizer, working as political director for Reclaim Chicago and The People’s Lobby before being appointed to the Illinois Senate in January 2019. He replaced Kwame Raoul, who left the seat after being elected Attorney General.
He’s Black and Jewish, a combination that reflects the multicultural fabric of the district he’s hoping to serve.
The Cash Bail Legacy
Peters’ signature legislative achievement is the Pretrial Fairness Act, which he co-introduced with Rep. Justin Slaughter. The bill became part of the landmark SAFE-T Act, making Illinois the first state to end cash bail entirely.
“One of the things I saw in bond court that sort of sticks out to me is how arbitrary the system is,” Peters has said. He watched people with money walk free while people without it stayed locked up for the same offenses. The reform he championed didn’t just change a policy. It changed a system that had been punishing poverty for generations.
When the federal administration later tried to blame the law for rising crime rates, Peters called it what it was: “dangerous misinformation.” The data backed him up.
What He’s Running On
Peters’ legislative record goes beyond criminal justice. He’s passed laws to raise the minimum wage, end the state sales tax on groceries, and expand the Senior Property Tax Freeze. He served as Chair of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus from 2021 to 2024 and currently serves as Majority Whip for the Senate Democratic Caucus.
For his congressional run, Peters carries endorsements from the Working Families Party, Progressive Democrats of America, and multiple national environmental organizations. His platform centers on expanding the economic and social justice wins he achieved in Springfield to the federal level.
The Culture Connection
Peters’ story is one that hip-hop has been telling for decades: someone from the community who decides to change the rules instead of playing by them. The fight to end cash bail wasn’t popular with everyone. Law enforcement groups pushed back hard. Political moderates called it risky. Peters pushed it through anyway, because he’d seen what the old system did to real people.
That willingness to take a stand when it’s uncomfortable, to prioritize what’s right over what’s easy, is the kind of energy the 2nd District needs in Washington. Illinois’ 2nd stretches from the South Side of Chicago through the south suburbs, and the communities in that district have been asking for someone who fights, not just someone who campaigns.
Peters is also a reminder that representation isn’t one-dimensional. As a Black and Jewish man who was born deaf, who was raised by a civil rights lawyer and a social worker, he brings a perspective that can’t be faked or focus-grouped.
How to Follow the Campaign
- Website: senatorrobertpeters.com
- Primary Election: March 17, 2026
