Their Mascot is a Big Hippie

The Southwest Side will be home to the first certified “green” school in Illinois. City contractors broke ground today for Tarkington Elementary, which will be an eco-friendly K-8 school with roof vegetation, solar panels, a rainwater-gathering system that will replenish a nearby lagoon, and flooring made of recycled glass. The school, located on 71st Street a little west of Kedzie, won’t just be an environmentally sound facility; The George Sollitt Construction Company, the general contractor for the project, has committed to “approximately 25 percent participation in the project by Minority Business Enterprises and 5 percent participation by Women Business Enterprises,” according to the Public Building Commission.