September 29, 2022

Dear 43rd Ward Residents,

Happy Fall! Today I took an early morning walk on Lincoln Park’s Nature Boardwalk, and I had the sharp realization that cardigan season has begun! Let’s all celebrate that this weekend by enjoying the beloved parks, local shopping and restaurants that make our 43rd Ward so vibrant.

It has been a productive and fast first week as Alderman. As we close it out, I want to thank all of our neighbors and community leaders who have contacted me with welcoming words. We are very lucky to have so many engaged leaders and committed residents who donate significant time and expertise to the benefit of the entire community be it in our schools, parks, streets and more. I look forward to championing and working with you all. Here are some highlights from the past week:

Food & Goods Donation Drive for Bused Migrants (pictures below!): I am humbled and energized by the response this past weekend to the 43rd Ward donation drive supporting the now 1,500+ migrants who we have welcomed to our city. It was a great time meeting everyone who came out and many great conversations were had. With a BIG thanks to our incredible Ward Superintendent Marty Casey, the huge amount of goods collected were moved out of the office quickly to fill the bused migrants’ needs. Now that the 43rd Ward Office is an official drop-off site for city donation drives, my goal is to organize an event to give back quarterly.

Committee Service: As you may recall, I currently serve on all of the committees my predecessor served on: Finance, Budget, Ethics, Public Safety, Licensing, Rules, Environment, Health and Human Relations. On Thursday (the day after I was sworn in), I had my first meeting on the Chicago Committee on Public Safety. We discussed mental health / days off for members of the Chicago Police Department. I look forward to diving into this role.

Safety Cameras through the Office of Emergency Management & Communications (OEMC): I have been getting a lot of questions regarding OEMC cameras in our ward. These cameras are an important tool for both deterring crime in public areas and supporting the police by providing them with resources to continue to build cases against criminals who have committed crimes in our neighborhood. These cameras are strategically located through recommendations of the police and coordination with existing infrastructure. Currently, the area in and around the 43rd Ward has 13 OEMC cameras and two sets of License Plate Readers (LPRs) that have been supported through funding via our ward’s aldermanic menu fund, as well as significant state and county support. These cameras are placed in strategic locations throughout our Ward. We are waiting on the installation of 2 sets of License Plate Readers that will be installed in the coming months. I have committed to using our ward’s aldermanic menu fund to continue to support the purchase of OEMC cameras in the 43rd Ward.

311 Website and Phone App: I want to keep spreading the good word of how powerful a tool CHI 311 is to address non-emergency services in our Ward. Via the CHI 311 website and mobile app, you can (i) create new service requests and check the status of existing requests (such as on timing and completion), (ii) snap a photo of an issue to submit it with a request to improve location accuracy, (iii) get local and relevant information/tips regarding the 43rd Ward including visibility into what other requests are being made in your neighborhood. The free CHI 311 mobile app is available for both iOS and Android devices and may be downloaded in the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Finally, as a strong believer that we need to give credit where credit is due, I want to thank the stellar 43rd Ward Staff for their immediate and gracious help integrating me into the role of Alderman. We are lucky in the 43rd Ward to have such a team of experts, so thank you Erik, Sheila, Taylor, McKay, Maggie, Emma & Thom!

With a hot drink in hand, I look forward to seeing you all out and about this weekend,

Article Heading

Alderman Timmy Knudsen

Community Events

St. James Oktoberfest

September 30, 6:30pm

Wear your Lederhosen and Dirndls and come to the St. James Courtyard for German food, beverages and music! (All for free!)

PS. This year we'll have hearty steins for purchase at a suggested donation of $10 each. You'll want one for our Stein Holding tournament!

21+ are welcome - invite your friends, family and neighbors!

Bauler Park Hoedown Barn Dance

Saturday October 1, 5:30pm

Join neighbors at the Bauler Park Hoedown this weekend hosted by Bauler Park Advisory Council and Lincoln Central Association.The Barn Dance theme will be country and western music, with an array of square dancing, contra dancing and other simple country and western steps focused on making this a fun event for all ages.

Non-Adults (15 and under) dancing between 5:30 and 6:30 pm Younger children will need to be escorted by an adult to help guide them. Adults will be dancing between 7:00 and 8:30 pm All participants, young and old, are encouraged to dress up western style to add to the fun.

More information here.

St. Pauls Oktoberfest

Saturday, October 1 3pm-9pm

Prost! It’s Munich meets Chicago as St. Pauls hosts our 10th annual street festival celebrating our German heritage. What better way to tap into the excitement of this Bavarian tradition than with an evening of authentic German food and beer, live music and dancing, a bouncy-house, and games for all ages. This event is open to the public and family friendly so invite your neighbors and friends. Free admission.

More information here.

Picosa presents: Season Opener!

Tuesday October 4, 7pm

Holtschneider Performance Center, Allen Recital Hall

Surviving the upheaval of the pandemic feels worthy of a celebration as an ensemble, and this season is exactly that: it’s all about Picosa’s signature style, unfiltered and unabashedly our own. Virtuosic artistry fills each concert, as we showcase music by incredible Chicago composers together with brilliant works by Galina Ustvolskaya, Asha Srinivasan, Delvyn Case, Daniel Dorff, and more.

Picosa’s audiences are our community, and we would love to have you join us after each concert to chat about the music. We look forward to seeing you.

More information h ere.

Frequently Asked Questions

Infrastructure Updates

Peoples Gas will be doing a vault replacement on the southwest corner of W Wrightwood and N Burling heading south to the alley. There will be "No Parking" signs on each side of the street during work hours posted. The work will take 6-7 weeks to complete.

Intersection of Wrightwood Ave. and N. Burling St.:

723-737 W. Wrightwood Ave. (south side of street) 722-738 W. Wrightwood Ave. (north side of street)
2538-2550 N. Burling St. (even numbers)
2541-2545 N. Burling St. (odd side numbers)

Filming Notice

Story is currently planning to film scenes to a commercial on October 4th, 2022. We will be filming interior and exterior scenes at a neighboring business for Illinois Tourism.

In order to park essential vehicles and equipment, streets in your area will be posted as a NO PARKING/TOW ZONE during the following dates/times:

Tuesday, October 4th from 6am to 5pm

WEST SIDE of HALSTED from WRIGHTWOOD to LILL
BOTH SIDES of LILL from HALSTED heading west to the Alley
BOTH SIDES of WRIGHTWOOD from HALSTED heading west to the Alley

Street Sweeping Schedule

The Department of Streets and Sanitation is hard at work cleaning streets in our ward. Below is the street sweeping schedule for October.

October Street Sweeping Schedule

For other questions regarding garbage collection, rodent control and recycling contact our office at yourvoice@ward43.org.

Chi Street Work Portal

Have questions about street work happening in your area? The Department of Transportation has a wonderful tool to look up street work in your area called the Chi Street Work Portal. Here you can input an address and see all surrounding permits for projects on that street.

43rd Ward Office Hours: M-F 9 AM - 5 PM

2523 N. Halsted | 773-348-9500 | yourvoice@ward43.org