Timmy Knudsen is an American politician, currently serving in the

Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legislative branch of the government of the City of Chicago in Illinois. It consists of 50 alderpersons elected from 50 wards to serve four-year terms. The council is gaveled into session regularly, usually mont ...

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 attorney and politician serving since 2019 as the 56th mayor of Chicago. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Before becoming mayor, Lightfoot worked in private legal practice as ...

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 seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

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

from the

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the University ...

in 2012 and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

University of Illinois College of Law The University of Illinois College of Law (Illinois Law or UIUC Law) is the law school of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a public university in Champaign, Illinois. It was established in 1897 and offers the J.D., LL.M., and J.S. ...

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 with nearly 700 attorneys in locations across the United States, London and Shanghai. The firm's core areas of practice include commercial finance, corporate, financial markets and f ...

, 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.

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. Format ''House Hunters'' follows indiv ...

''. He is openly gay.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knudsen_Timmy 21st-century American politicians Chicago City Council members Chicago City Council members appointed by Lori Lightfoot Living people University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni University of Illinois College of Law alumni Gay politicians American LGBT city council members Illinois Democrats Year of birth missing (living people)