Early in the morning outside Cook County Jail, a group of new detainees stepped out of a Chicago police wagon and walked bleary-eyed into the bright sunlight before lining up inside against a brick wall.
Brought in from the police districts, the men were among the newest bookings to the jail, where they would wait until a judge ruled on whether they would be admitted or released while their charges were pending.
And the jail, busy during the early morning hours as police brought in overnight arrestees and deputies shuttled detainees to court appearances, may only grow more bustling: After a decline following statewide bail reform — and years of reductions prior to that — the county’s jail population has begun to tick up once again…