South Side Residents Demand Say in $500 Million Quantum Campus Development

Hundreds of South Side residents gathered Saturday to voice concerns about a planned $9 billion quantum computing campus and demand community control over the $500 million in state funding dedicated to the project.

The Southeast Side People’s Assembly, organized by community group Southside Together at Christ Bible Church in South Shore, brought together residents who say they feel excluded from decisions about the former U.S. Steel South Works site development.

“What would you want your children to grow up around? What does real investment look like to you?” asked Jerry Whirley, a South Shore resident and organizer with Southside Together, according to attendees.

Residents shared visions for community gardens, increased access to healthy food, and infrastructure repairs to address frequent flooding on major streets. One Spanish-speaking resident expressed hope for community centers with after-school tutoring programs in math and science to provide equal learning opportunities for local students.

The assembly focused on the 440-acre lakefront parcel spanning from 79th Street to the Calumet River, where the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park is planned. Speakers at the event said the proposed development could displace longtime residents, increase energy costs, and worsen environmental challenges in the area.

Attendees voiced frustration that Governor J.B. Pritzker provided tax breaks to incoming tech companies while area residents struggle with high property taxes. The crowd responded with boos and calls of “that ain’t right” as speakers discussed the development plans.

“They left us behind when they closed the steel mill, but we fought for ourselves and survived anyway, and they can’t just come in 30 years later and expect us to not keep fighting for ourselves,” said Luna Arielle, a South Chicago resident and business owner.

Arielle said she initially had questions about the quantum campus but felt development backers didn’t provide straight answers. She later connected with Southside Together members who addressed her concerns. Arielle wants the investment money redirected to revamp shuttered businesses and restore pharmacies and mental health facilities.

“We need a business corridor that is lively with businesses and events that make residents feel safe and allow the children to come out,” Arielle said. “I don’t see kids playing in the neighborhood, and we can have infrastructure that allows them to do that.”

Real estate speculation has emerged as a key concern. When South Shore resident and organizer Jayna McGruder asked audience members who had received recent calls asking them to sell their homes, at least a dozen hands went up, according to attendees.

McGruder warned that residents could be pushed out before experiencing any promised economic benefits from the development. “With the Obama Center on one side of the South Side and the quantum facility on the other side, this creates an inaccessible economic corridor,” McGruder said.

The organizer also expressed concerns that U.S. military involvement in the development could lead to increased policing in neighborhoods she described as historically overpoliced.

The quantum campus has received more than $850 million in public funding and tax breaks from city and state sources, according to speakers at the assembly.

“This is not a community without ideas. This is not a community without leadership. This is not a community without vision,” Whirley told the crowd. “The only thing we’ve been denied is power.”

In small group discussions, participants demanded direct community investment in services like fresh food grocery stores and wellness facilities, while calling for the right to determine their neighborhood’s future development.