REPORTER: Representative, are you going to drop out of the race?
ANCHOR: Smith is accused of accepting a $7,000 cash bribe from a daycare center that he believed was seeking a state grant. The deal was actually a ruse by federal agents, begun in December, after one of Smith’s campaign staffers came to the FBI and began working undercover.
ANCHOR: According to this criminal complaint, Smith told the informant he was trying to think of the best way to keep the bribe exchange clean. "I don’t want no trace of it," Smith allegedly said, referring to the bribe. The informant asked if cash would be okay, Smith replied, "Yeah, I don’t want no trace of it." When told the bribe had been delivered, Smith is said to have commented, "Okay, just leave it in the envelope."
ANCHOR: The FBI used Youtube videos of Smith for voice comparisons to match undercover tapes. Smith was appointed a year ago to fill a 10th district vacancy and is currently running for election. Today when ABC7’s Ben Bradley tried to speak with Smith’s staffers, he was pushed out the door fo the public official’s West Side office.
ANCHOR: Smith’s opponent, however, was delighted to comment.
TOM SWISS: What I’d like to do is see him step down right now. I think that he has a consistent pattern of unethical behavior and he shouldn’t be on the ballot and run for state representative.
ANCHOR: Mr. Smith has been running hard, with a major fundraiser just last night, featuring Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White. Smith worked for White’s office before joining the Illinois General Assembly. In this brief statement released a few minutes ago, Sec. White says, "I am very disappointed with the conduct alleged in the charges. I am confident this case will be handled fairly and justly by the judicial system."
ANCHOR: Sec. White actually chaired the panel that selected White last year and called him an "honest, stand-up kind of guy." Prior to state government, the 48-year-old Smith worked for Chicago Streets and Sanitation until he was fired, following allegations he used city workers to do private landscaping. Smith’s campaign is backed by the state Democratic organization and Speaker Mike Matigan who have pumped tens of thousands of dollars into Smith’s campaign. Rep. Smith has just bonded out at federal court.