Is Chicago Tri worth the money?

I have never done the Chicago tri, even though I am in South Bend, and am pretty close. First, you said sprint, I am pretty sure it is an Olympic distance race, but there might be a sprint with it... not sure.
I have hade some friends do the race, and their commenst were that it wsa a fun race and organized extremely well, but don't expect to set a PR there, as the bike and run portions are so tight, due to all the people in the race, that you can hardly pass, and are forced to have somewhat of a pack pace. That doesn't sound fun to me, so I spend my money on races that I can race my pace, and not worry about bumping into people.

Please note that everybody I have met said it was a fun race... nothing really derogatory

They have a super sprint, sprint, and oly....Since the bike portion is on the Drive, I'm sure it costs a bundle to use it (although I think they only close one lane in each direction)

There are both lengths - Sprint and Oly.

I just signed up for it last night because of the fun my wife and I expect to have in Chicago. It is a great place to visit. If the weather is good, it will be one hell of a party!

I did the sprint this last year. Personally I had a great time, but probably won't do it again. The best part of it for me was racing along Lake Shore, which is very cool. I would recommend it doing it at least once as it's very cool race to do. Just racing along Lake Shore is cool enough, but entering a transition area with 8000-10000 other bikes is pretty awesome.

Hmmm.... I lived on inner lake shore drive for 5 years, so racing by the lake is nothing really new for me. I also like to do the "Bike the Drive" in May when they shut the whole drive down one morning for bike traffic (and it's only $30, great deal!). So I'm not sure I'd be getting anything additional out of the experience, except for seeing such a large transition area (which sort of scares me..... dodging other people and being in congestion is not enjoyable).

I appreciate the feedback from people, but I think that this year I'm going to pass.

Ive done Chicago Oly twice, signed up again this year. I have never felt like I had to adjust my pace because of crowds. I sure got passed PLENTY of times on the bike. I think its a great experience and all 3 portions are awesome. Swimming in the lake is not a big deal either, I know a lot of people say how dirty it is, etc, but I have never had problems with it. And its great to be able to see the pros, and the other awesome athletes there. Id say go for it, especially since youre close.