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Alderman Timmy Knudsenï»ż
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Constituent Services are the core function of any aldermanic office, and quite frankly, my favorite part of public service. From introducing staff ride-alongs with Ward Superintendent Marty Casey, our neighborhood association âconstituent service walksâ, and constant teaching on how to use the CHI311 app, we continue to improve upon constituent service knowledge and fulfillment. The numbers show it, as the Ward saw tremendous efforts from the various City departments in addressing thousands of service requests through 311.
During walks in the neighborhood, I am constantly taking pictures of potholes, alleys, graffiti, or faded signs through the CHI311 app. There is a sense of gratification when a request is fulfilled, and I encourage you to download the app here and join me as a âChi 311 warriorâ in working to continually improve and beautify the 43rd Ward.
For a more tangible view, the following is a taste of the number of 311 requests completed in 2022:
- 1,646 Graffiti Removals
- 1,204 Potholes Filled
- 932 Rodent Baiting Services
- 129 Sewer Cleanings
- 282 Public Way Inspections
- 196 Trees Planted
- 129 Tree Removals
- 347 Tree Trims
- 364 Garbage Cart Maintenance Requests (new or replacement bins)
- 220 Blue Recycling Cart Requests (new or replacement bins)
You can create new service requests and check the status of existing requests all through the CHI 311 website and mobile app. Remember to snap a photo of an issue and submit it with a request to improve location accuracy.
Thanks to additional funding, starting in spring 2023, the Department of Streets and Sanitation (DSS) Bureau of Forestry will be increasing its tree trimming crews and will have the capacity to move to a citywide area tree trimming program. This means crews are able to trim all trees in one geographic area at the same time, creating a more efficient and equitable process for Chicago residents.
The 43rd Ward experienced an extended street sweeping schedule in 2022. Marty and DSS worked past the last day of sweeping and as long as weather permitted to get as many streets swept and clean before the winter season.
Many, many thanks to our excellent Ward Superintendent, Marty Casey, for responding to neighborsâ issues in such a prompt and professional manner. Marty is an incredible public servant and an invaluable resource to the 43rd Ward.
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The 43rd Ward has some of the most dedicated, passionate, and well-organized neighbors and neighborhood groups in the City of Chicago. In the last few months, I have spoken with representatives from each of our community groups and had a productive meeting with the Lincoln Park Alliance, which features all seven of our neighborhood associations. For more information on these groups, please take a look at our special neighborhood association-focused newsletter here.
With nearly 57,000 residents in the 43rd Ward, it is clear to me that continued outreach is even more important. Our neighborhood continues to be the best place to live, work, and raise a family.
This year, we had a special time celebrating the Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerceâs 75th Anniversary along with chamber members and other community leaders. Whether it is through a coffee at a local cafe, a gift from a local boutique, or a memory at a local restaurant, our lives are greatly benefited by the work of the chamber!
In the coming months, I look forward to continuing to update you on our partnership with community groups and the LP Chamber of Commerce, including our wardâs menu funding commitment to an art installation and lighting to be installed under a particularly dark portion of the âLâ tracks at Lincoln & Wrightwood.
Finally, being in our Wardâs schools wearing a new âaldermanic hatâ has been a joy of my first few months in office. There are several public school administrators and teachers in my family, and I have only ever attended public schools (from kindergarten all the way to law school).
A strong public school system is an integral part of what makes a community thrive, and I thank all of the LSC leaders, teachers, students, and parents who dedicate so many hours of free time to improving our schools. In my discussions with these school leaders, we are making no small plans for the future of our 43rd Ward neighborhood schools. To begin to address the real needs within our schools â while leveraging the amazing spirit and energy within them â education was the central theme of the "Rotating City Hall" where we brought City Hall, CPS, World Business Chicago, and other leaders to the ward for a jam-packed day of tours and meetings across the 43rd Ward. Click here for our Rotating City Hall overview.
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Public Safety remains the most critical issue for residents in the 43rd Ward and across the City. Since taking office, I have committed significant funding to install cameras throughout the 43rd Ward. This includes license plate readers (essential in catching vehicular hijackers), PTZ cameras (pan, tilt, zoom), and 360 cameras. This investment in strategic cameras serves both as a deterrent to potential incidents and as an essential resource for law enforcement as they work to solve crimes.
Furthermore, the 43rd Ward Community Public Safety Board continues to meet to discuss the state of public safety in our ward and the efforts on which we can work together. This includes educational opportunities, advocacy on cases of interest in the community, and sponsorship of events related to public safety.
Several of the most important meetings I have held are with our local police commanders, CAPS District Commanders Jon Hein (18th) and Amin Jessani (19th). In the coming months, we look forward to hosting another event with our police commanders to share the cityâs actions to improve public safety and hear from you. As always, we encourage neighbors to attend their local beat meetings where they can get to know officers and register concerns directly with the police. You can find that schedule here.
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There is a common Chicago adage that âthere are only two seasons in Chicago, winter and construction.â Here in the 43rd Ward, we certainly feel that! On behalf of the various city departments and my office, I want to thank you for your patience as the city works to replace 100-year-old water mains, update broadband lines to 5G connection, and continue to make sidewalks more ADA accessible and compliant. Not to mention the continued push over the next few years to make our streets safe for bicyclists.
In 2022, the entirety of North Racine Avenue from West North Avenue to West Diversey Avenue was resurfaced, in addition to many other streets across the ward. While several of our menu capital improvement projects were delayed due to a citywide cement shortage and labor disputes, we funded significant infrastructure improvements this year through our 43rd Ward menu budget. This is all of our taxpayer dollars at work. Over the past 90 days discussions with CDOT about stalled projects for the 43rd Ward have provided a schedule for this work which can be found here.
Finally, because of redistricting and population growth in the 43rd Ward (relative to the City as a whole), in 2023, some neighbors on Racine Avenue and Clifton Avenue are now members of the 32nd and 2nd Wards. Click here for the updated 43rd Ward map.
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Dorothy's Playground in Oz Park will be seeing a complete rebuild. Our friends at Oz Park Advisory Council have invested significant time and resources to kick-start this project, and have engaged community input and a design team to provide ideas and a schematic. They stated that they were most concerned with retaining as much of the historic look as possible while ensuring durability and safety. The 43rd Ward is thrilled to commit $100,000 to implement this project through our Aldermanic menu funding, and our partner State Representative Margaret Croke is generously committing the same amount through state funding.
The Chicago Park District hopes to have construction coordinated this year with a new engineering vendor. These plans will also be shared with the community.
In addition, we have coordinated a new OEMC public safety camera to be installed next to the playground, which will increase safety further in our beautiful Oz Park.
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Our 43rd Ward is full of distinguished architectural heritage and cultural treasures that need to be preserved. In November, the 2022 Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Awards selected two properties in our ward for their outstanding achievements in the field of historic preservation and Landmarks. We are so proud to celebrate these awards!:
The Lincoln Park Zoo Pepper Wildlife Center - Award for Rehabilitation & the Richard H. Driehaus Legacy Award
The recently-completed renovation of the Kovler Lion House (now known as the Pepper Wildlife Center) at the Lincoln Park Zoo was completed and is being celebrated city and statewide for its stunning rebirth. By paying homage to the original historic qualities of the building while also reimagining the space for today's visitors, Landmarks Illinois awarded the zoo not only the Award for Rehabilitation but also the Richard H. Driehaus Legacy Award, recognizing the Goettsch Partners project as the year's most outstanding Historic Preservation project in the State of Illinois for 2022. Lincoln Park Zoo and Goettsch Partners have delivered a project that honors the history of this beloved institution while also inspiring new generations of Zoo visitors for years to come.
2132 N. Halsted - Award for New Construction
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2132 N Halsted (owned by Sumit and Paula Gupta) was awarded the 2022 Award for New Construction in honor of their significant efforts to create a new addition to the Armitage-Halsted Landmark District that blends artfully with the surrounding neighborhood. The Armitage-Halsted district stands as one the most prized collections of 19th-century commercial architecture in the city, and the project at 2132 N Halsted was celebrated for its attention to detail, incorporation of period-appropriate architectural detailing, and seamless blending into the historic fabric of the district.
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As our business community continues to grow and recover from the impacts of the pandemic, our Ward has welcomed several new openings to the community over the last few months. A few of these include:
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