The winning candidate to run against indicted Rep. Derrick Smith (D-Chicago) is ... municipal bond lawyer Lance Tyson.
The former chief of staff to ex-Cook County Board President Todd Stroger was chosen this week by Democratic Ward committeemen on the city's West and Northwest sides, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Smith is accused of accepting a $7,000 bribe from undercover officers for writing a letter supporting a state grant for a day care.
Smith easily won the Democratic March primary against Tom Swiss with 77 percent of the vote, but Democrats now want him out.
Tyson, 40, was chosen Wednesday among of three finalists. He worked as a legislative liaison for Mayor Richard M. Daley for five years and, according to the Sun-Times developed a rapport with key players in Springfield.
Smith told a House committee earlier this month he does not plan to step down.
"I will continue to represent the interests of people in the district," Smith read from a prepared statement. "They elected me despite the fact that the government [charged] me just a week before the primaries. As the people in the district did not abandon me, I will not abandon them."
