Timmy Knudsen (born 1990) is an American politician, currently serving in the

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the Law and government of Chicago, government of the Chicago, City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 Wards of the United States, wards to serve four-year t ...

as alderman for the 43rd ward. He was appointed to the position by Mayor

Lori Lightfoot Lori Elaine Lightfoot (born August 4, 1962) is an American politician and attorney who was the mayor of Chicago#List of mayors, 56th mayor of Chicago from 2019 until 2023. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, she ...

and confirmed by the City Council in September 2022, following the retirement of Michele Smith. The 43rd ward is on Chicago's North Side, including much of

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US president Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, to near Ardmore Avenu ...

and a small portion of the Near North Side.

Early life and education

Knudsen graduated with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

in 2012 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from the

University of Illinois College of Law The University of Illinois College of Law at Urbana-Champaign is the law school of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a public land-grant research university in Champaign and Urbana, Illinois. It was established in 1897 and offers th ...

in 2015.

Early legal and political career

Knudsen worked as an attorney for the firm

Katten Muchin Rosenman Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP (Katten) is a full-service law firm in locations across the United States, London and Shanghai. The firm's practice includes commercial finance, financial markets and funds, intellectual property, structured finance an ...

, and later was a partner at the firm Croke, Fairchild, Morgan & Beres, where he worked on venture capital and cryptocurrency issues. In 2019, Knudsen was part of the campaign finance team for Lori Lightfoot in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election, which she ultimately won. In September 2019, Knudsen was appointed as an alternate member of the Chicago Zoning Board of Appeals. In September 2020, Lightfoot nominated him as chair of the Board. He was confirmed by the

to the position the next month.

Chicago City Council

Incumbent 43rd ward alderman Michele Smith announced her retirement in August 2022. Knudsen launched a campaign for 43rd ward alderman in the 2023 elections and applied to fill the remainder of Smith's term. On September 19, 2022, Lightfoot nominated him to fill the vacancy. The City Council confirmed his appointment on September 21, 2022. Upon his appointment, Knudsen stated that public safety, public schools, and "giving back to the community" were his top priorities. He announced that one of his first initiatives would be to install new security cameras throughout the ward. In 2023, he ran for election in the 43rd Ward, receiving a plurality of 26.8% in the municipal general election. He then ran in the runoff against Sheffield Neighbors Association president Brian Comer and defeated him with 52.9% of the vote

Personal life

Knudsen lives in Lincoln Park, and his home renovation was featured on an episode of ''

House Hunters ''House Hunters'' is an American unscripted television series that airs on HGTV and is produced by Pie Town Productions. Each episode follows people making a decision about a new home purchase or rental. Debuting in October 1999, the show has ...

''. He is openly gay.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knudsen_Timmy 21st-century Illinois politicians American LGBTQ city council members Chicago City Council members appointed by Lori Lightfoot American gay politicians Illinois Democrats Living people University of Illinois College of Law alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni