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Organizer Robert Peters Picked To Fill Kwame Raoul's Illinois Senate Vacancy

CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago political and community organizer has been appointed to the Illinois Senate to finish the term of Attorney General-elect Kwame Raoul.

A group of Democrats appointed Robert Peters on Sunday to finish Raoul's term through 2020. Peters is an organizer and political director of Reclaim Chicago, which endorsed Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign.

A statement from the group says Peters plans to seek re-election. He says he'll work with others "to be the strongest voice possible for people of color and all poor, working and middle-class people" of the 13th District.

Peters says he was born deaf with a speech impediment to a mother who addicted to drugs and alcohol. His adopted father was a civil rights and criminal defense attorney, and his adopted mother was a social worker.

(© Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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