DETROIT - Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was bounced from office Thursday in a deal with prosecutors that will send him to jail and put an end to the sex scandal that embarrassed this chronically struggling city and preoccupied its government for months.

The 38-year-old "Hip-Hop Mayor" who brought energy and excitement to City Hall when he took office in 2002 pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and will get four months behind bars.

The Democrat will also pay a $1 million fine and lose his license to practice law, and he cannot run for any elected office for five years. His resignation will take effect in two weeks.

Kilpatrick was charged earlier this year with perjury and other offenses for denying that he and his chief of staff had an affair. The scandal broke wide open in January with the release of a trove of lusty text messages between the two of them that appeared to contradict the mayor.

"I lied under oath," the beefy former college lineman said in court Thursday. His wife, Carlita, watched from the second row, occasionally closing her eyes.

A few hours later, he walked into a conference room to thunderous applause and thanked his backers for sticking by him during his rocky 6 1/2-year tenure. In a statement aired live on Detroit television stations, Kilpatrick said he takes full responsibility for the mistakes that led to his guilty pleas and resignation.

His resignation "should not stop the continuing progress of the place we all love, the city of Detroit," he said. He urged people to support and pray for his successor, City Council President Ken Cockrel Jr.

Coming after eight months of turmoil and demands that Kilpatrick step down, the plea bargain was met with relief from politicians and ordinary Detroit residents alike. His departure also could remove a major embarrassment for Barack Obama and the Democrats in Michigan, a crucial battleground state in the presidential election.

"This gives us hope. He's not a king," said Monica Smith, 24, of Detroit, a college student who was on the courthouse steps. "This is a huge victory for the city of Detroit. He was not a role model. He was a thug. I'm definitely optimistic."

Some business leaders said the city suffered while the case hung over the mayor.

"I'm not sure there were lost projects. Things were put on hold," said Doug Rothwell, head of Detroit Renaissance, an economic development group. "For business people, if you don't know the environment, you don't invest."

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