Vol. VII No. 41 Leamington Foods replaced, PAGE 4
OCTOBER 12, 2022
vfpress.news
Local crafts shine at Autumnfest, PAGE 5
In warehouses, a push for robots to replace people
There’s a boom in warehouse construction, including across Proviso Township, but companies are increasingly relying on robots to staff them By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
In the last three years, there have been at least three major warehouses and fulfillment centers opened in the nine-suburb Village Free Press readership area. But more workspace doesn’t necessarily translate into more jobs, a recent report by IBD Weekly shows. In fact, giant e-commerce companies and retailers forced to do business in a virtual shopping landscape dominated by Amazon are pushing at breakneck speed to make warehouse work autonomous. And the “holy grail of warehouse automation is a so-called ‘lights-out’ operation,” IBD Weekly reports. “That’s a warehouse that runs without humans inside and can even operate See ROBOTS on page 8
SHANEL ROMAIN/Staff Photographer
The Proviso East High School Marching Band walks on Washington Boulevard in Maywood during the high school’s annual homecoming parade on Oct. 8. See more photos on page 2 and online at vfpress.news.
Berkeley library exhibit an homage to the Beatles ‘4EVER4’ exhibit, sponsored by Republic Bank of Chicago, and a presentation by John F. Lyons recalled Beatles’ stratospheric rise By MICHAEL ROMAIN Editor
Sixty years ago last week, the Beatles’ debut single, “Love Me Do,”
was released in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 17. That was then — Oct. 5, 1962 to be exact. John F. Lyons, a London native who lives in Chicago and teaches British and U.S. history at Joliet Junior College, has a way of making the past very present. Lyons delivered an interactive lecture on Beatles history at Berkeley Public Library, 1637 N. Taft in Berkeley, on Oct. 8. His presentation culminated the day’s open house for “4EVER4,” a Beatles photo exhibition sponsored by Republic Bank of Chicago and that was on display at the library until Oct. 10. The exhibition celebrated the Beatles’
60th anniversary. It wasn’t until two years later, in 1964, that the English rock band famously “invaded” the United States,” appearing for the first time on live American TV in February 1964, when they went on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” The band had six number-one hit singles in the U.S. that year. “When the Beatles appeared on the [Ed Sullivan Show], the audience was 73 million, which was a record for the time,” said Lyons, who also wrote the 2021 book, “Joy and Fear: The Beatles, See BEATLES on page 11