State, private developers break ground on quantum research park

Shovels are in the ground for a highly anticipated project in South Chicago that its backers, including Gov. JB Pritzker, say will be transformative to a neighborhood still grappling with the loss of a steel plant more than 30 years ago.

The Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, a hub for quantum tech-related businesses, researchers and government programs, began construction Tuesday, with this phase of construction anticipated to conclude in 2027.

“The IQMP and the businesses coming here will generate billions of dollars in private investment and create thousands of jobs,” Pritzker said.

California-based PsiQuantum will occupy the first facilities built on the site. The 9-year-old startup plans to build the first utility-scale quantum computer in the country.

The development, being handled by Related Midwest, also will include a new 53-bed hospital run by Advocate Health, a major hospital system in the Chicago area. The plan includes more than 100 acres of new or upgraded parks.

“Nowhere else in North America do you see this level of infrastructure investment and collaboration coming together at scale. Illinois is not catching up in quantum. Illinois is setting the pace,” Harley Johnson, head of the IQMP project, said Tuesday.

“Today is more than just the start of construction, it is a promise: The IQMP will be a partner to its neighbors, generator of opportunity for all, and a place where innovation happening at the highest level meets the talent and determination of this community.”

The project is at the site of the former U.S. Steel facility South Works. At its peak, the plant employed 20,000 people and was a major economic engine for Chicago’s South Side. Since the plant closed in 1992, the area has faced disinvestment and several failed attempts to redevelop the site, which now includes hundreds of acres of mostly vacant lakefront parkland.

“We are rebuilding an economic engine for the future and investing in the people of the Southeast Side,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said.

What is quantum computing?

Quantum technology takes advantage of quantum mechanics to perform calculations that would be impossible for traditional computers to do. Proponents of the technology say it could be used to revolutionize encryption and cybersecurity, financial modeling, drug development and navigation technology — among other fields.

“This is about more than one company or one park. It’s about entire new workforces,” said Jeremy O’Brien, CEO of PsiQuantum.

The state has spent the past several years investing in the microelectronics and quantum technology industry. In 2024, the General Assembly approved a $500 million plan to build a “quantum campus,” which eventually became the quantum park. The state’s economic development agency also arranged a tax incentive package worth $200 million to PsiQuantum, the first “anchor tenant” of the development.

Since the park development was announced last summer, several other tenants have signed on. They include businesses like IBM, Diraq and Infleqtion; Argonne National Laboratory and Fermilab; major universities from around the state, and the federal government through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

The project is a key element of the state’s economic development strategy and is backed by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and the Illinois Economic Development Corporation — a private nonprofit with close ties to the state.

“The park will bring high-quality jobs to our state, creating opportunity and transforming a historically disinvested area, while paving the way to address some of society’s biggest challenges,” Illinois EDC Chairman John Atkinson said.

The project has attracted concern from some neighborhood groups, however. They worry that the promised jobs may not benefit the local economy and are concerned about the environmental impacts of such a large construction project on land with a history of industrial pollution.

“We want transparency on what’s in the ground. We want protections during construction, and we want the South Works brownfield cleaned up,” said Anne Holcomb, a local resident and environmental advocate.

But Chicago Alderman Peter Chico, a Democrat who represents the area, maintains that the project will be good for his ward.