FILE – In this Oct. 7, 1985 file photo, Illinois Gov. James R. Thompson, behind the wheel of a Chrysler convertible, is joined by G. Glenn Gardner, left, and Yoichi Nakane, after a news conference in Chicago. (AP Photo/Mark Elias, File)

CHICAGO (AP) — Former Illinois Gov. James R. Thompson has died. He was 84.

Thompson’s prosecutions of public officials in a state infamous for public corruption helped catapult him to become Illinois’ longest-serving chief executive. His wife, Jayne, told the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times that he died Friday night at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. The Tribune, citing a police report, reported Thompson had been recovering there for several weeks after suffering heart problems.

Thompson was a Republican from Chicago who was first elected in 1976. He served four terms. A moderate, he managed the state through recession years in the 1980s.