An Iowa man who claimed he was stabbed by a mugger on the Riverwalk last month has now come clean: he made it all up. Police have charged Gary Hunninghake, 63, of Coralville, Iowa (pictured right) with felony disorderly conduct for filing a fake police report for the April 24 "incident." Police have maintained since the incident occurred that Hunninghake's story had inconsistencies. He claimed to have been stabbed multiple times shortly before 6 a.m. on April 24 while jogging along the Riverwalk but it now turns out those wounds were self-inflicted but police said they have no motive as to why so far. Hunninghake turned himself in to police yesterday afternoon. more ›

Starting Monday morning River North residents heading to the Loop have a new option for their weekday commute. The Water Taxi will be making a new stop along the River Walk at the edge of Erie Park between North Larrabee and West Erie, in addition to the stops at Michigan Avenue and Union Station. Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) plugged it as the “first ever residential-oriented stop” and told the Tribune it would “ease downtown congestion at no cost to the city.” more ›

The first annual Taste of the Riverwalk kicks off today, along with the opening of a new section of the riverwalk, running along the south bank of the river between Wabash and Michigan Avenue. It’s now possible to walk along the river from Wabash all along the lake without having to go up and down stairs. more ›

Eight people were hurt this morning by a propane explosion at Cyrano's Cafe on the Riverwalk. Among the injured were two cooks; four of the injured were hospitalized while four others refused treatment. The propane tank that exploded had been fixed for a leak just yesterday. Witnesses credited Jessica Herum, 24, a deckhand with Chicago's First Lady boat tours, for acting quickly and using a fire extinguisher to help fight the fire in the immediate aftermath of the fire while awaiting the arrival of fire personnel. [CBN] more ›

The death of Brian Glynn, 44, of Janesville, Wisconsin, has been ruled an accident by investigating authorities. Late afternoon Saturday, Glynn fell from the Columbus Ave. bridge near North Water Street onto a sidewalk along the Chicago River, some 30 feet below the bridge. A toxicology report was not offered along with an autopsy and Glynn's stepson, Mitch Fanning, took umbrage with commenters on the Trib's website - on a story that's no longer available - who insisted Glynn was extremely drunk from the day's St. Patrick's Day celebration when he fell. Said Fanning, "I was there and saw the whole thing. The man did not drink himself into 'oblivion,' he was walking just fine." The Trib says Fanning refused to elaborate any further on the circumstances surrounding Glynn's death. [Trib] more ›

The Chicago City Council held off on voting on a controversial ban on urban chickens yesterday. Since urban chickens are all the rage, it seems like a perfect time to ban them, right? Southwest Side Alderman Lona Lane (18th), who proposed the ban, said she didn't know why the vote on the ban was held up. Maybe it is, as the Sun-TImes suggests, because Mayor Daley has a thing for urban poultry: "Let's be realistic,"... more ›