The Bureau of Prisons has confirmed that the 83-year-old surrendered. It is believed that he will spend at least his first days of a seven-and-a-half-year sentence at a prison in West Virginia.
It has been eight months since Madigan walked out of federal court as a convicted felon. The man once known as the Velvet Hammer was brought down in the same way so many other Illinois politicians before him have been.
"He could not resist the opportunity to enrich himself. He had so much power and people feared him so much he could take advantage of that," ABC7 political analyst Laura Washington said.
Madigan was no ordinary politician. As the longest-serving state speaker in the country, he was, for decades, Illinois' most powerful man.
"He was so powerful: People did his bidding without questioning him. He had all the aces in the hole. He had governors coming to him. He had mayors coming to him," Washington said. "Everyone bowed to Mike Madigan when he was in power. Now, no one will be bowing to him."
On Monday, Madigan's home on Chicago's Southwest Side remained quiet. The former speaker likely left before Monday.
His new home is a minimum security facility in Morgantown, West Virginia, with a population of 179. But while Madigan was sentenced to serve seven-and-a-half years in prison, former federal prosecutor Christopher Hotaling explained that it is unlikely, at his age, he will serve anything close to that.
"There are a variety of avenues that his team can pursue, compassionate release if there's medical issues that develop," Hotaling said.
Referencing his imprisonment, Madigan's successor, Democratic Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch said on Monday, "I have not spoken to the former speaker. We did ethics reform my first year as speaker. It was very substantive. I'm proud of that."
Madigan is appealing his conviction. The three-judge panel that will eventually hold oral arguments in his case is not likely to render a decision until well into next year.