Chicago Improv Festival @ The Annoyance Theater

As part of the Chicago Improv Festival, Chicago's own Tim Meadows performs as a special guest at The Annoyance Theater (4830 N. Broadway) in the show Messing With a Friend. Tickets are $20, show starts at 10:30pm. For info and tickets call (773) 561-4665, tickets will be available at the box office on the day of the show.

Chicago Improv Festival @ i.O. Comedy Theater

As part of the Chicago Improv Festival, i.O. Comedy Theater (3541 N. Clark St.) presents two shows for CIF-iO International Night: at 8:30pm the Portuguese troupe Os Improvaveis takes the stage, followed by Tale & Nick, who represent Canada and Norway; closing the show is Mexico's Impro Top. A second show at 10:30 opens with the French team Eux Impro, and closes with Sweden's Improvisation & Co. Tickets to both shows are $15, for info and tickets call (773) 880-0199 or visit TicketWeb.

Chicago Improv Festival @ Apollo Theatre Studio

As part of the Chicago Improv Festival, Apollo Theatre Studio (2450 N. Lincoln Ave.) hosts the troupes Swords and Dirty Water. Show starts at 8pm, tickets are $15. For info and tickets call (773) 935-6100, tickets will be available at the box office on the day of the show.

Chicago Improv Festival @ The Playground

As part of the Chicago Improv Festival, at 7:30pm The Playground (3209 N. Halsted) will host improv troupes The R&D Project, Mrs. Dad and Whiskey Rebellion. An "Open Court" all-fest jam starts at 9:30pm. Tickets to the 7:30 show are $15, another $5 will get you into the 9:30 show. For info and tickets call (773) 871-3793, tickets will be available at the box office on the day of the show.

Mugs for Mutts @ Mickey Finn's

Support your local pet rescue at the Mugs for Mutts benefit, tonight at Mickey Finn's (412 North Milwaukee, Libertyville) from 6-9pm. Music, food, prizes and a silent auction are part of the bill. Tickets are $25 ($30 at the door).

People's Music School Happy Hour

A happy hour fundraiser for the People's Music School happens tonight at Rebel Bar & Grill, 3462 N. Clark St., tonight from 6 to 9pm. Tickets are $10 in advance, $15 at the door, and get you complimentary appetizers, an hour of open bar, two more hours of drink specials. 21+

We Are Wolves @ Subterranean

French Canadian dance rock band We Are Wolves shakes things up tonight at the Subterranean. The band just released their third album Invisible Violence in February. Opening is El Ten Eleven and Parlovr. The music starts at 9. Tickets are $12. The Subterranean is located at 2011 W. North Ave. (773) 278-6600.

Criminal Injustice: Jon Burge, Police Torture, and Racism in Chicago

For over two decades, Jon Burge was a commander in the infamous Area 2 headquarters of the Chicago Police. Under his command, hundreds of black men were tortured by police. Some were convicted & sentenced to long terms, even death, although they were innocent and victims of police torture. Finally arrested on federal charges of perjury and obstruction of justice related to his role in the systematic abuse of prisoners, Burge is slated to face a judge on May 24th in Chicago.

A public forum on Thursday, April 22, from 7:00-9:00 PM at the Institute for Cultural Affairs on 4750 N Sheridan Rd featuring:

Mark Clements is a victim of police torture who was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to life as a juvenile. He was finally exonerated in 2009 after 26 years in prison and continues to fight injustice with the Campaign To End The Death Penalty and the Jail Jon Burge Coalition. A group of college students working with the National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which has recently formed an innocence project under his coordination, are combing through some of the details of torture cases in which men remain incarcerated.

Stanley Howard was suffocated him with a typewriter cover while continuously beating him until he confessed to a crime he didn't commit. In prison, Stanley led the way in forming the Death Row 10--a group of condemned prisoners who all endured similar police torture. Their struggle from behind prison bars played an important part in building pressure on Ryan to clear death row. Still in prison for another crime he was falsely accused of, Stanley continues to speak out against the death penalty and the criminal justice system, writing regularly for the Campaign to End the Death Penalty's newsletter the New Abolitionist.

Eric Kerl is a longtime activist and socialist who has organized against racism, war, and many other forums of injustice that plague our society.

Sponsored by the International Socialist Organization and the Truman College Socialist Club.

Incyde, Timid, Jeff Pietro, Olin @ Smartbar

This Thursday's Subfix at Smartbar with Incyde, Timid, Jeff Pietro, and Olin will be a night to check out as Incyde is the manager for forward-thinking label Hotflush Recordings, which has released the likes of Joy Orbison, Pangaea, Untold and Chicago's own Eric H. The locals round out what promises to be an interesting night of intricate sounds, from Timid - formerly of Chicago's first dubstep monthly Bass Goes Boom - and Chicago veteran Jeff Pietro to the Smartbar debut of Rumble Lounge resident Olin. The show starts at 10pm, is presented by Abstract Science, Fresh Kid and local blog Little White Earbuds and is $8 ($5 w/ text before 11). Smartbar is 21+ and located under the Metro at 3730 N. Clark.

Lisa Shannon @ Barbara's Bookstore

This Thursday and Friday, author Lisa Shannon reads from
A Thousand Sisters: My Journey into the Worst Place on Earth to Be a Woman. The book tells of her 2007 and 2008 trips to the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, a region in which "rape is the norm. It is a weapon of war," according to the group Human Rights Watch. John Prendergast, co-founder of The Enough Project, says A Thousand Sisters "shines a spotlight on the hope that emanates so stubbornly from this complex country, primarily through [Shannon's] loving portrayal of her Congolese sisters. Instead of victims, these women are determined survivors, three-dimensional human beings who deserve our respect and solidarity." Lisa Shannon is the founder of the fundraising group Run For Congo Women and an ambassador for Women for Women International. She'll be appearing at Barbara's Bookstore, 1218 S. Halsted, on Thursday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. and at Women & Children First Bookstore, 5233 N. Clark, on Friday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m.

Peter Carey @ Chicago Public Library

This Thursday author Peter Carey will be at the downtown Chicago Public Library. He'll be reading from Olivier and Parrot in America, an historical novel about a spoiled aristocrat fleeing the 1830 July Revolution in France, the ex-con sent along as his servant, and their impressions of "The New World." Chicago Public Library, 400 S. State Street, 6 p.m.

Pride on Paper

In collaboration with Mexican artists at a papermaking facility outside Oaxaca, Kiff Slemmons and the local Oaxacan artists have designed and developed a wide variety of contemporary paper jewelry using local plants, fibers, as well as natural and synthetic dyes. Check it out at the Chicago Cultural Center (78 E. Washington St). Ongoing until July 10, 2010. Admission is free. Visit the website for more information.