Zoning change? Lightfoot taps zoning appeals board chair Knudsen to replace retired Ald. Smith in 43rd Ward

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Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday that she was choosing Timmy Knudsen, her handpicked chair of the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals, to replace retired Ald. Michele Smith in the 43rd Ward.

The appointment is expected to give Knudsen a running start in next year’s aldermanic elections in the affluent North Side ward, which typically sees heavily contested races.

“Knudsen has singled himself out as an exceptional leader in the 43rd ward community,” Lightfoot said in a statement. “His passion for connecting with his neighbors and encouraging hope, energy, and opportunity for Chicago residents makes him uniquely situated to serve as Alderman. I look forward to working with him as he takes on this new role.”

Knudsen’s nomination will face the City Council Rules Committee Tuesday before the full Council votes on the appointment Wednesday. If his appointment is approved, Knudsen will replace Smith, who retired on Aug. 12, as alderperson, representing Lincoln Park as well as parts of Old Town and the Gold Coast.

Knudsen, 32, who received his bachelor’s degree and law degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has worked as an advisor for startup companies, founders and their investors. He also founded his own law firm, where he provided legal services to over 40 LGBTQ+ asylum seekers through his pro bono work, according to the mayor’s office.

“As I have throughout my legal career, my public service chairing the Chicago Zoning Board of Appeals, and my time as a grassroots organizer, I will be an advocate and consensus builder as alderman — someone who actively engages with people on all sides of an issue and seeks to find common ground,” said Knudsen in a statement.

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Already planning to run for the aldermanic seat in next year’s elections, Knudsen said he spent the past six weeks gathering signatures and speaking with residents of the 43rd Ward and is committed to facilitating conversations about community concerns.

Residents have called for improved public safety for themselves and public schools, said Knudsen.

Knudsen also released statements of support from several other 43rd Ward and civic leaders, including Art Johnston, LGBTQ+ activist and cofounder of the Illinois Federation for Human Rights.

“Knudsen is a leader who has been on my radar for years, due to his consistency in showing up to do the unglamorous work and his championing of others in doing so,” said Johnston in a statement. “Timmy has a rare skill in making all kinds of people believe more in themselves, and I am so happy this day has come where he is seeking public office.”

Justin DeJong, Board Chair of Equality Illinois, was quoted as saying, “Timmy has been a leader in the LGBTQ+ community in Chicago for years, always from his home base in the 43rd Ward.”

For nearly a decade, Knudsen has lived in the Lincoln Park and Old Town community. According to the mayor’s office, he organized a large food drive during the pandemic and worked as a local voter protection officer on election days.

“I want to thank Mayor Lightfoot and the 43rd Ward Appointment Committee for their careful consideration, thorough review process, and the opportunity to serve the 43rd Ward as Alderman,” Knudsen said in his statement.

“I am honored to have a new way to give back to the community I call home and the opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to the 43rd Ward and City Council.”

If he wins the seat in next year’s election, Knudsen will be one of at least 15 City Council members sworn in next May who were not there four years earlier. That would be the most turnover since 2011, when the Council welcomed 18 members new to the chamber since the previous election.

Here is the latest scorecard for alderpersons who have left in recent months or announced they will not seek reelection:

City Council members not seeking reelection: Leslie Hairston (5th); Susan Sadlowski Garza (10th); Howard Brookins (21st); Ariel Reboyras (30th); Carrie Austin (34th); Tom Tunney (44th); James Cappleman (46th); Harry Osterman (48th).

Already resigned: Convicted Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson (11th); Michael Scott Jr. (24th); Michele Smith (43rd).

Giving up Council seats to run for mayor: Sophia King (4th); Roderick Sawyer (6th) and Ray Lopez (15th).

Also, George Cardenas (12th), is the frontrunner to win a seat on the Cook County Board of Review in November after winning the Democratic Party nomination in June.

Allison Novelo is a CST Wire reporter