The stunning downward spiral of Michael Madigan’s political career ended Friday with a 7 1/2-year prison sentence and a $2.5 million fine for the former Illinois House speaker and the longest-serving legislative leader in U.S. history after he was convicted of trading legislation for the enrichment of his friends and allies.

U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey sentenced the 83-year-old in U.S. District Court in Chicago.

Nicknamed the “Velvet Hammer” for his quiet but hard-nosed style, Madigan was convicted in February on 10 of 23 counts in a remarkable corruption trial that lasted four months. The case churned through 60 witnesses and mountains of documents, photographs and taped conversations.

The jury deadlocked on six counts, including an overarching racketeering conspiracy charge, and acquitted him on seven others.

Madigan spoke briefly before sentencing, asking to avoid prison so he could care for his wife and spend his final years with his family.

“I’m truly sorry for putting the people of the state of Illinois through this,” Madigan said. “I tried to do my best to serve the people of the state of Illinois. I am not perfect.”

Former Illinois Speaker of the House Michael Madigan, flanked by daughters Nicole, left, and Tiffany, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse after jurors found him guilty on 10 counts in his racketeering case, Feb. 12, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

During a three-and-a-half-hour hearing, Blakey noted the numerous letters sent to the court supporting Madigan. The judge said Madigan was a good family man and a kind man, helping his neighbors without pause.

But he said, “Being great is hard. Being honest is not. It’s hard to commit crimes. It actually takes effort.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker hammered home the fact that Madigan has not taken responsibility for the crimes or shown any remorse.

Illinois State Representative Michael Madigan addresses state representatives  after he was re-elected as Speaker of the House at the University of Illinois campus in Springfield, Illinois, on  January 11, 2017.    (REUTERS/Joshua Lott)

Streicker noted that Madigan, having served as speaker through seven governors, “had every opportunity to set the standard for honest government.” Instead, she said, “he fit right into the mold of yet another corrupt leader in Illinois.”

Defense lawyers had called the government’s recommended sentence “Draconian” and, given Madigan’s age, a life sentence.

“He did not seek to be greedy. He lived a very frugal life …,” Madigan attorney Dan Collins said. “The rhetoric wants to make Mike responsible for the long history of corruption in Illinois. He is not, Judge. He is one man.”

They asked Blakey to consider the totality of Madigan’s life and work and the need to care for his wife in requesting a sentence of five years’ probation, with one year of home confinement, a requirement to perform community service and a “reasonable fine.”

In a video submitted to the court, Shirley Madigan said she needed her husband to come home.

“I really don’t exist without him,” she said. “I wish I could say that I do, but I don’t know what I would do without Michael. I would probably have to find someplace to live, and I’d probably have to find care.”

Tried alongside Madigan was his former legislative colleague and longtime confidant, Michael McClain. The jury couldn’t reach a decision on any of the six counts against McClain. He was convicted, though, in a separate trial over the ComEd conspiracy last year.