SPRINGFIELD –Senate President Don Harmon joined Governor JB Pritzker, House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and federal lawmakers to announce a historic partnership between the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Illinois that will develop a Quantum Proving Ground for research on the emerging technology.

“Just as technological innovation has changed our lives in ways we could never have imagined, quantum holds the promise of doing the same for the future,” said Harmon (D-Oak Park). “And that future will happen here.” 

Illinois’ quantum campus will be the site for a new Quantum Proving Ground program. Here, quantum-computing prototypes will be tested and evaluated as part of DARPA’s new Quantum Benchmarking Initiative that was also recently announced.

The budget for Fiscal Year 25, spearheaded by Illinois Senate Democratic Caucus, allocated $500 million in state investment to fund quantum research and build a campus. Illinois will commit $140 million in matching funds for the Quantum Proving Ground.

Illinois’ leading research universities will be able to collaborate with private companies and conduct research in shared cryo facilities, equipment labs and spaces planned within the campus. The DARPA-Illinois Quantum Proving Ground is projected to generate up to $60 billion in economic impact and will create thousands of local jobs. The campus site location is yet to be announced.