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Ex-Chicago police commander getting out of prison

A former Chicago police commander serving a sentence for lying about the torture of suspects by officers under his command is getting out of prison.

Jon Burge is scheduled to be released to a halfway house on Thursday. He was serving a 4½-year sentence in federal prison after being convicted of perjury in connection with testimony he gave in a civil case involving torture allegations.

More than 100 men have accused Burge and officers under his command of shocking, suffocating and beating them into giving false confessions during the 1970s and 1980s.

The former commander has never been criminally charged with abuse.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled that Burge can keep a $3,000-a-month pension. Chicago has paid millions to settle lawsuits related to Burge torture allegations.

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