Why does a 32-year-old man insist on being called “Timmy”?

Because the name was part of an emotional and potentially high-risk “coming out” process for newly-appointed Ald. Timmy Knudsen (43rd).

It happened when he graduated law school and joined the buttoned-down Chicago law firm of Katten Muchin Rosenman that, he was not at all certain, would welcome an openly gay attorney.

“I’ve been Timmy my whole life. ... [But], going into this law firm, people were going, ‘Tim.’ It’s a bit of an identity story. I thought, ‘Do I need to be Tim to be a lawyer and grow in this space? Do I come out loudly at this law firm? Who am I in the city of Chicago?’” Knudsen told the Sun-Times on Thursday.