Democratic State Representative Derrick Smith may have won his primary election Tuesday, but it could be a short-lived victory.Smith got his seat in the Illinois House with the help his former boss and mentor, Secretary of State Jesse White. White is credited with convincing his fellow ward committeemen on the west side of Chicago to choose Smith when a vacancy opened a year ago. But now White's calling on his protégé to resign after Smith was charged last week with accepting a bribe. White and Governor Pat Quinn waited until after the election to call for Smith to step down. Despite his legal troubles, Smith got support from 77 percent of Democratic primary voters.
Meanwhile, the Illinois House is set to begin disciplinary proceedings next week, following a call for action from Republicans, including Representative Ed Sullivan of Mundelein. Sullivan says its an allegations of corruption. So he wants the house to move forward and have the House of Representatives clean its own House. Members of a special investigative committee are set to meet Tuesday in Springfield.