CHICAGO — The number of years former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan spent in Springfield has often been used as shorthand to explain his outsized impact on state government and politics. His political career spanned 50 years in the General Assembly, 23 years chairing the Democratic Party of Illinois, and 36 years as House speaker — the longest tenure of any state or federal legislative leader in U.S. history.

But on Friday, a new term was added to the former speaker’s list of legacy-defining terms when U.S. District Judge John Blakey sentenced Madigan to 90 months, or 7 ½ years, in federal prison. 

The sentence, which also includes three years’ probation after his prison term and a $2.5 million fine, follows a jury’s split verdict in February. After a marathon two weeks of deliberation, jurors convicted him on 10 of 23 corruption charges, including bribery, but acquitted him on seven and deadlocked over another six.

As Friday afternoon’s hearing passed the three-hour mark, Madigan accepted Blakey’s invitation to make a statement to the court. After taking a drink of water, putting on his glasses and blowing his nose as he approached the bench, the former speaker addressed the judge for less than two minutes, reading from a prepared script.

“I’m truly sorry for putting the people of the state of Illinois through this,” he began, noting that he “tried my best” to serve the people of Illinois. “I am not perfect.”

Later, when explaining how he was weighing Madigan’s continued insistence in his innocence, Blakey repeated Madigan’s words.

“The defendant says he’s sorry for putting the people of Illinois through this,” the judge said. “I guess that’s as close as we’ll get to remorse.”

Blakey spent a long time audibly weighing what he called “a tale of two different Mike Madigans,” calling the former speaker “a dedicated public servant” and “a good and decent person.” 

“He had no reason to commit these crimes,” the judge said. “But he chose to do so.”

Blakey took particular umbrage with Madigan’s performance on the witness stand in January after he made the stunning decision to testify in his own defense. In siding with the government’s argument that the former speaker’s sentence should take into account his perjury on the witness stand, Blakey cited several examples of times Madigan’s statements conflicted with either evidence, the sworn testimony of others, or even his own testimony.

“The defendant’s testimony was littered with obstruction of justice and it was hard to watch,” Blakey said. “To put it bluntly, it was a nauseating display. ... You lied, sir. You lied. You did not have to.”

Madigan, who was described by many witnesses throughout his four-month trial as difficult to read — and who attempted to explain the familial origins of his reserved personality as a defense while on the witness stand — was characteristically stoic as Blakey handed down his sentence. 

After conferring with his attorney, he hugged and kissed his adult children in the front row of the courtroom gallery. A few minutes later, he and his entourage of lawyers and family quickly made their way out of the Dirksen Federal Courthouse, trailed by cameras. 

True to form, the former speaker also made no statement to reporters, though he smiled slightly before getting on the elevator down to the courthouse lobby. Across the street, a man yelled to Madigan and his group, “You going to jail, buddy?”

Madigan was ordered to report to a yet-to-be-named federal prison on Oct. 13.

Madigan’s attorneys told the court he would seek a bond pending his appeal, which would allow him to remain free pending resolution of the appeal.

Prosecutors had urged a 12 ½-year sentence and a $1.5 million fine, while Madigan’s lawyers asked for five years’ probation, the first on home detention. After hearing arguments from attorneys earlier in the week, Blakey calculated the sentencing guidelines for Madigan’s convictions and other factors would dictate a prison term of 105 years, but the judge was under no obligation to follow that directive.