I Still Love Chicago PD, But Intelligence Hasn't Been The Same Since These 5 Characters Left

Chicago P.D.is still my favorite police procedural, but the Intelligence Unit has been changed permanently by several character exits over the years. After more than a decade on the air, Chicago P.D. season 12 still offers strong drama, compelling cases, and meaty conflicts between Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) and the administrators in charge of the police force. However, the show is very different than the one that premiered as a mid-season replacement in January 2014.

The harsh reality of rewatching Chicago P.D. season 1 is that it was a grittier show that used to lean more heavily into Voight's willingness to use violence in the name of getting justice. Additionally, there have been several high-profile exits in the 12 years the police procedural has been on the air. The changes the series has gone through don't make modern episodes less watchable; however, some cast absences are keenly felt even if the characters have been gone for several years.

5 Alvin Olinsky

Played by Elias Koteas

Alvin Olinsky was Voight's best friend and right-hand man for the first five seasons of Chicago P.D.. Beyond that, he was also a well-rounded cop character whose family life became very complicated during the show. His close relationships with Dawson, Ruzek, and Burgess made him a memorable character as well as making his death twice as tragic.

Custom image of Alvin Olinsky in Chicago PD

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Olinksy was arrested for murder at the beginning of Chicago P.D. season 5 and was stabbed to death in prison. 7 years later, I'm still not over this heartbreaking death. Olinsky recently appeared as a ghost in the Chicago P.D. season 11 finale, which made the loss even more painful because it confirmed that he was truly dead and hadn't faked it for his own purposes.

4 Antonio Dawson

Played By Jon Seda

Jon Seda as Antonio Dawson and Jason Beghe as Hank Voight in Chicago PD

Jon Seda's Antonio Dawson was an original member of the Chicago P.D. cast whose exit from the series was far less compelling than he deserved. Dawson and his family paid the price for Voight's violence more often than any other people in Voight's circle. Gang members and others seeking revenge sometimes targeted his children, so Dawson's loyalty to Voight occasionally caused strain in his relationship with Chicago Fire's Gabby.

Dawson is absent during Chicago P.D. season 4 because he is working for the State Attorney's Office in Chicago Justice.

It's hard to believe that Dawson has been gone since season 6. He was such a big part of Chicago P.D. that it feels like he was there for longer than he was. Unfortunately, his exit is memorable only because it didn't do his character justice. He resigned off-screen and disappeared after his addiction to painkillers led him to push a drug dealer out the window while high, causing chaos when Voight tried to cover up the truth for his sake.

3 Jay Halstead

Played By Jesse Lee Soffer

Jay Halstead was so central to Chicago P.D.'s first decade on the air that the procedural feels like a different show without him. He was a young, highly moral cop who was often caught between his conscience and the illegal activities that Voight asked him to participate in or look the other way in order to ensure justice was done. Halstead's importance was underscored by the fact that Chicago Med's connection was his brother, Will — who is also no longer part of the One Chicago franchise.

Halstead's open-ended exit means he could potentially come back, especially now that FBI: International has been canceled so Soffer no longer has another commitment.

Like Dawson, Halstead had a disappointing exit from Chicago P.D. He abandoned his marriage to Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) to go to Bolivia on a temporary assignment that he kept extending. Hailey finally gave up on him a year before she also left Chicago P.D. However, Halstead's open-ended exit means he could potentially come back, especially now that FBI: International has been canceled, so Soffer no longer has another commitment.

2 Justin Voight

Played By Josh Segarra

Chicago PD Justin Voight wearing a leather jacket and staring at someone

Justin was Voight's troubled son, who went to prison in season 1 and spent most of the rest of his time in Chicago P.D. attempting to turn his life around, only to be murdered when he tried to protect a friend from a gang of robbers. His existence showed the contradiction between the Intelligence's leader's personal and professional lives — Voight went to great lengths to ensure criminals got what they deserved, yet his son was in and out of the prison system. However, Voight loved his son despite his behavior, and that relationship helped humanize him.

Justin's death still left a huge hole in Voight's life — and in the series as a whole.

Justin's death demonstrated that he was more like his father than it seemed, considering that he sacrificed his life for the greater good. His father went after Justin's murderer and forced him to dig his own grave before killing him, but Justin's death still left a huge hole in Voight's life — and in the series as a whole.

1 Erin Lindsay

Played By Sophia Bush

Erin Lindsay sitting at interrogation table with hands interlocked in Chicago PD

During the first three seasons of Chicago PD, there was a greater emphasis on Voight's family life, which included his surrogate daughter. Erin thought of Voight as her father because he was there for her when she was a troubled teen who was getting into street fights because of her negative home life.

Sophia Bush as Erin Lindsay in Chicago PD.

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Lindsey's exit soon after Justin's death ended the Voight family subplot, turning Chicago P.D. into more of a standard police drama. This is unfortunate, considering how many plots revolved around Lindsay's admiration of Voight or attempts to help her surrogate brother get his life together.

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