In a poignant video filed with Chicago’s federal court Friday ahead of her husband’s sentencing, the wife of former Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan worried what life would be without him by her side, saying, “I really don’t exist without him.”

Shirley Madigan talked about dating her husband, how he came to be a father to former Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, and how she came to struggle with various health issues. Without Michael Madigan, she said, “I would probably have to find care.”

“He loves me,” Shirley Madigan said of the once-powerful Southwest Side Democrat. “Not only does he love me, but I’m a part of him. … There’s some days I keep him going.”

“He keeps me going sometimes too,” she explained. “But I think that the impact that I’ve had on him has been much, m

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