James Comey in Chicago this week to promote book at Harris Theater lecture

The coming-out party of James Comey arrives in Chicago this week as the fired FBI chief will tell his story as part of the Chicago Humanities Festival.

Comey is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. Friday, April 20, at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance. It will be something of a homecoming for Comey, a 1985 graduate of the University of Chicago law school.

General admission tickets, $35 to $60, first went on sale to festival members, then opened up to the general public on March 28. While those tickets are gone, VIP tickets remain available for $100. They include reserved seating near the stage and a priority line.

Each ticket comes with a copy of Comey’s new book, “A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership.”

Organizers tell the Sun-Times there will be a period of lecture by Comey, then an interview by festival director Alison Cuddy. including questions submitted by audience members.

The appearance is part of Comey’s tour promoting the memoir out Tuesday, April 17. Before coming to Chicago, he’s also scheduled to appear on”The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on Tuesday and “The View” on Wednesday.

Comey, appointed by President Barack Obama, was fired last May by President Donald Trump. He had been at the center of several Washington controversies, angering both Democrats and Republicans with his handling and his public disclosures of an investigation of Hillary Clinton’s emails.

At the time of his termination, the White House said the move had been requested by Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and a deputy in response to the Clinton issues, but Trump later said the decision came directly from him and stemmed from the FBI’s investigation of possible Russian collusion with Trump’s 2016 campaign. He called Comey a “showboat” and “grandstander.”