Amid the strains of “Pomp and Circumstance,” you could hear the intermittent bleep of the metal detectors and the occasional bark of a sheriff’s deputy. And if you looked out the window to the right of the “Class of 2010″ banner, it was hard to miss the coils of razor wire gleaming in the sunlight.

This week’s high school graduation in a room off the lobby of the Cook County Criminal Courthouse at 26th and California was unusual in a number of ways, including the fact that most of the graduates of the Cook County Jail’s “Virtual High School” program aren’t fresh-faced kids stepping out into the world for the first time. Many have lengthy criminal histories.

“It feels good — I’ve got my diploma and can’t nobody take it away from me,” said Ira Hines, 21, a two-time felon whose baggage includes a father doing time for murder.

Hines was one of six people to get their diplomas in a new online program aimed at nonviolent criminal defendants. It’s a collaboration between Chicago Public Schools, the Cook County court system and the sheriff’s office. The program provides opportunities for defendants who, in many cases, are too old or too far behind their classmates to finish classes at a traditional high school.

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