Business
Officials Break Ground on Quantum Computing Campus, Promise Economic Boom for South Chicago. Neighbors Want That in Writing
Elected officials and businesspeople throw a ceremonial amount of dirt at the groundbreaking event for the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park on Sept. 30, 2025. Pictured from left to right: Blue Owl Capital Managing Director Colleen Collins, Commonwealth Edison CEO Gil Quinones, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Gov. JB Pritzker and PsiQuantum CEO Jeremy O’Brien. (Capitol News Illinois)
Ground was ceremonially broken Tuesday on the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, marking the first phase of development of what’s been dubbed Quantum Shore Chicago. The 440-acre technology and innovation district is set to rise up on the long-abandoned site of the former U.S. Steel South Works.
The project, announced in 2024, is backed by a $500 million investment from the state of Illinois.
California-based PsiQuantum will be the anchor tenant, with plans to build “America’s first utility-scale quantum computer,” according to Jeremy O’Brien, cofounder and CEO of PsiQuantum.
IBM has also committed to the site, which officials are likening to a “quantum ecosystem” — a hub for innovation and advancement.
A drone’s eye view of the former U.S. Steel South Works site in its current state. (Courtesy Related Midwest)
Officials from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson were on hand for the groundbreaking and in their speeches vowed that, like the former steel plant, the quantum campus would be an economic engine benefiting the Southeast Side, delivering jobs, investment and growth.
A coalition of residents disputed that depiction of quantum’s potential to transform their communities and lives.
During a Zoom news conference held Tuesday morning, in advance of the splashier afternoon groundbreaking event, members of various neighborhood organizations questioned the commitment of politicians and the developer, Related Midwest, to a community benefits agreement that would put promises in writing.
Members of the group — which operates under the name Coalition for a South Works CBA — said the public was not invited to the groundbreaking, just as they hadn’t been asked to attend last year’s announcement of the quantum campus.
“I find it offensive,” said Anne Holcomb, co-founder of the environmental justice group ETHOS. “We should be included. We should be invited.”
Among Holcomb’s primary concerns: Related Midwest and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency have consistently referred to a 1997 report that determined the South Works site is safe and not in need of any additional remediation.
“That letter is 30 years old, using 30-year-old science,” Holcomb said. “We know there are hot zones. … We don’t want our kids getting sick 20 years from now.”
The community benefits agreement neighbors have drafted includes mandatory remediation, investment in adjoining parks and continued access to the lakefront.
For its part, Related Midwest has said the development will incorporate bird-safe building materials and native landscaping that’s bird- and pollinator-friendly. And its plan calls for expanded connectivity to parkland, as well as new green space and trails, Related Midwest said in a statement.
A rendering of the bird- and pollinator-friendly habitat developers say will be part of the quantum campus. (Courtesy of Related Midwest, CRG, Clayco, Lamar Johnson Collaborative)
Neighbors’ concerns extend beyond environmental issues, though. The proposed community benefits agreement also contains tax relief for long-time residents; guarantees that permanent, full-time jobs at the campus will go to residents; and support for local businesses.
But not all residents are wary of the quantum campus. For local business owner Jorge Perez, Quantum Shore represents the realization of a decades-long dream.
The son of a steelworker, Perez grew up in South Chicago and in 2021, he and his wife opened Chico’s Oven, a family-run bakery on East 83rd Street that’s a half-dozen blocks from the quantum campus.
For 33 years — ever since South Works closed — people had questioned why he stayed in South Chicago, said Perez, who was given the final speaking slot at the groundbreaking.
It was faith, he said, that a moment like Tuesday, with ceremonial shovels in the ground, would finally arrive.
“Everyone’s perception is going to change now,” Perez said. “South Chicago is open for business.”
A rendering of the quantum campus, on the former US Steel South Works site in South Chicago. (Courtesy of Related Midwest, CRG, Clayco, Lamar Johnson Collaborative)
Contact Patty Wetli: [email protected]
