CHICAGO – A state legislator was arrested on federal charges Tuesday after an undercover FBI operation caught him accepting a $7,000 cash bribe and saying he wanted “no trace” of the money, the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago alleged in criminal complaint.

Rep. Derrick Smith, 48, is accused of accepting the money to write an official letter of support for a day care center he believed was seeking a state grant. The Chicago Democrat is charged with one count of accepting a bribe, prosecutors said.

Dressed in a black, long-sleeved shirt, Smith stood blanked-faced with his arms stiff-straight as he made an initial appearance in a federal courtroom in Chicago. When U.S. Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan asked if he understood the charges, he responded quietly, “Yes.