Cook County sheriff's team tackling urgent threat from organized retail crime networks stealing railroad cargo

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Theft from rail cars costs consumers billions of dollars every year. Described as dangerous and costly, lawmakers say these sophisticated criminal networks are an urgent threat. Most nights, as trains pass through Chicago and the suburbs, organized bandits board moving trains to steal whatever cargo the rail cars are carrying. The head of the Cook County Sheriff's Organized Retail Crime Team says it's an everyday thing.

Before sunrise on Sept. 24, the I-Team went out with the unit on a joint operation with Cook County Sheriff police and Norfolk Southern.

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Law enforcement eyes in the sky spotted several people running toward the railroad tracks in Englewood.

"We had some individuals on the train track opening up ca