Alderperson for the 43rd Ward Timmy Knudsen has had a lot on his plate since he took office. The 43rd ward consists of Lincoln Park, Old Town, Ranch Triangle, and the Gold Coast. He was appointed to replace retiring alderperson Michelle Smith in September 2022 and was elected for his first full term in April. When campaigning, Knudsen shared his goals to spend his time with public safety, the environment, and constituent services.
In what some have described as a “summer of crime,” according to several tweets on Knudsen’s Twitter (X) feed, public safety appears to be top of mind for Knudsen. His X account for the month of July was filled with community alerts for armed robberies and individuals wanted for aggravated criminal sexual assault.
On June 17, he published a letter with State Representative Margaret Croke about the shooting that took place at Lincoln Park Zoo in the early morning hours. On May 26th, the alderperson retweeted a message on Twitter about shots being fired at North Avenue Beach. Given the apparent increase in criminal activity in the ward or the increase in reporting of such activity, many of Knudsen’s constituents appear to be focused on the issue as seen in his Twitter feed.
A second area of focus for the alderperson has been the environment. He recently pushed legislation to reduce the idling of all internal combustion-powered vehicles, not just diesel vehicles which are already illegal. Earlier this summer, he indicated that he got this idea for the new environmental legislation after visiting with students at Lincoln Park High School and Parker.
In recent weeks, Knudsen’s office has hosted “Conversations with Commanders” events to help connect the community with local law enforcement and provide public safety updates.
At a recent meeting, Commander Michael Barz, 18th police district Commander indicated that he had assigned a consistent patrol car to sit at the Armitage and Halsted intersection along with trying to bring back foot and bike patrol in the ward. Both tKnudsen and Barz have asked local residents to introduce themselves to local officers and view both the mobile car and any foot or bike patrol as a mobile police station, available for any citizen at any time.
In late July, Knudsen wrote a letter to the new mayor Brandon Johnson asking for increased police resources for the 18th police district. Knudsen does not believe that there are enough police officers in our district to allow for consistent services and patrols in every beat. His letter to the mayor noted that only two years ago there were 398 officers assigned to the 18th district, and as of late July, there were only 286. The 18th district has experienced the largest loss of sworn police officers of any district in the city of Chicago according to Knudsen. Knudsen’s X feed shows that constituents are concerned about the increase or perceived increase of crime in the ward. Knudsen appears concerned about the issue and trying to find a solution to this growing public safety concern.
