Former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke enters the courtroom for his sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Friday, Jan. 18, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune / Pool)

The decision from U.S. Attorney John Lausch comes two months after Van Dyke was released from custody after serving about half of his 81-month sentence handed down by a Cook County judge in 2018.

Former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke and his attorney Daniel Herbert, left, attend Van Dyke’s sentencing hearing on Friday, Jan. 18, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune / Pool)

The five women and four men who call themselves the “Laquan Nine” had gone to the courthouse Thursday to deliver a letter to U.S. Attorney John Lausch demanding charges against the disgraced officer who was released from prison last week after serving a little more than three years for killing Laquan McDonald.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth joins “Chicago Tonight” via Zoom. Feb. 3, 2022. (WTTW News)
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Two U.S. senators are pressing the Justice Department on a federal civil rights investigation into former Chicago Police officer Jason Van Dyke. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth say the facts of the case are “shocking and upsetting” and are asking the Attorney General for an update into the probe.

Chicago police superintendent David Brown joins “Chicago Tonight” via Zoom. Feb. 3, 2022. (WTTW News)
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Chicago police superintendent David Brown is approaching nearly two years in command. And it's been a rough ride. His tenure has been racked with a soaring homicide rate and weeks of civil unrest in the wake of George Floyd's murder — all while attempting to reform a police department during a global pandemic.

Former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke and his attorney Daniel Herbert, left, attend Van Dyke’s sentencing hearing on Friday, Jan. 18, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune / Pool)

Ex-officer was convicted of killing Black teen Laquan McDonald

“I understand why this continues to feel like a miscarriage of justice, especially when many Black and brown men get sentenced to so much more prison time for having committed far lesser crimes,” Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

(WTTW News)

Gov. J.B. Pritzker presents an election-year budget filled with tax relief and more spending on programs.  And Rod Blagojevich weighs in on a congressional race. . Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.

Former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke enters the courtroom for his sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on Friday, Jan. 18, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune / Pool)

Illinois Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth want to know more about a federal investigation into the 2014 killing of Black teen Laquan McDonald.

Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, left, attends his sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago, for the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald, Jan. 18, 2019. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool, File)

A letter to Garland, sent by NAACP President Derrick Johnson, comes days before former Officer Jason Van Dyke is scheduled to be released from prison Thursday after serving less than half his state prison term of six years and nine months.

(WTTW News)

Former Chicago officer Jason Van Dyke is scheduled to be released from prison Thursday after serving three years behind bars. Community activists and relatives of Laquan McDonald are now calling on the federal government to take action. 

In this Jan. 18, 2019 file photo, former Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke, left, attends his sentencing hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building in Chicago, for the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune via AP, Pool, File)

Kahalah Clay, chief legal counsel for the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, confirmed that Jason Van Dyke — who was convicted in October 2018 in the killing of the 17-year-old — will be released from prison on Feb. 3. She said she did not know where Van Dyke was being held.

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel discusses his book on “Chicago Tonight.” (WTTW News)

The 48-21 vote returns the former Chicago mayor to public life more than three years after he announced he would not run for a third term in office amid the continuing uproar over the murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by a Chicago Police officer in 2014.

Rahm Emanuel appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Monday, May 13, 2019.

The full U.S. Senate is set to consider Rahm Emanuel’s nomination to serve as President Joe Biden’s ambassador — but if the former Chicago mayor is confirmed, it will happen without the support of at least two progressive Democratic senators.

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel discusses his book on “Chicago Tonight.” (WTTW News)

The full U.S. Senate is set to consider Rahm Emanuel’s nomination to serve as President Joe Biden’s ambassador — but if the former Chicago mayor is confirmed, it will happen without the support of at least two progressive Democratic senators.

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel discusses his book on “Chicago Tonight.” (WTTW News)

“A grave tragedy occurred seven years ago. And that tragedy sits with me, as it has, every day and every week for the last seven years,” Rahm Emanuel said during a hearing before the Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday that took place on the seventh anniversary of Laquan McDonald’s murder.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan nominee Rahm Emanuel attends a hearing to examine his nomination before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021. (AP Photo / Patrick Semansky)

Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Wednesday he did nothing improper but still fell short in his handling of the fatal police shooting of a Black teenager in the city seven years ago.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Monday, May 13, 2019.

Several liberal House lawmakers and activists complain that Rahm Emanuel's handling of the death of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald, who was shot 16 times as he ran away from police, should have disqualified him for consideration for a coveted role.