Rep. Derrick Smith’s bribery trial begins today

10:31 a.m. CDT, May 28, 2014

As the final days of the state Legislature’s spring session wind down, lame duck state Rep. Derrick Smith finds himself in a federal courtroom in Chicago today as his scheduled trial gets underway on charges of bribery and extortion.

Jury selection is set to begin at about 10:30 a.m. after U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman refused last week a defense request to delay the trial so Smith, a Chicago Democrat,  could be in Springfield to vote in the closing days of the legislative session.

In a last-minute filing, Smith also claimed that a worsening back injury from a car wreck last month would make it difficult for him to sit through the proceedings, but the judge told him he could stand during the trial if it helped.