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.
Alvin Olinsky was one of the many original main characters to leave Chicago PD – here’s everything you need to know about his exit from the NBC show.
4 Antonio Dawson
Played By Jon Seda
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.
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.
Played By Josh Segarra
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
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 exited Chicago PD after season 4, and in the years since she left the show, the actress has been busy with many other projects.
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.
