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.

Madigan, 82, and his co-defendant, political ally and confidant Michael McClain, are accused of running a criminal enterprise designed to enrich the former speaker and his associates and increase his political power.

Madigan's defense attorney Dan Collins, when he began his own closing arguments Friday afternoon, rebutted that the government's case wasn't as strong as it would like the jurors to believe. He argued it relied on jurors' cynicism regarding politicians to fill in evidentiary gaps.