Michael Madigan’s defense team has begun closing arguments at the former Illinois House speaker’s corruption trial in Chicago.

Attorneys for Michael Madigan opened their final bid to persuade jurors of his innocence by hearkening back to a memorable nickname for the former speaker: the Sphinx.

To convict Michael Madigan of a racketeering conspiracy, jurors will need to find that Madigan or his close ally agreed that two so-called racketeering acts would be committed — not that they were actually carried out.