The race experience really starts the day before the race. Every registrant is required to pick up their packet themselves. This is slightly inconvenient since I live a bit away from the race and parking can be expensive. I drove down Saturday afternoon to the expo and decided to take advantage of the $10 parking at Lot C at McCormick Place. Construction did not make it easy to find this specific lot, but I eventually found it after driving around for a while.
The expo was very well organized a definitely worth going to. I got to try out tons of different products and there were some super cute race apparel available for purchase. I walked around for about an hour before heading back home for the night.
Rock 'n' Roll series suggested using ParkWhiz to reserve parking on race day. I've used them before, so I purchased a spot with them again. This turned into a bad situation because the parking garage over sold their spots and I was forced to find a new lot very last minute. I ended up having to pay $38 for parking. ParkWhiz did refund me and gave me a $5 credit to my next purchase. Their customer service was very responsive as well, so I will not fault them for this one bad experience.
I found parking and ran to the start area. I was in Corral 5, so my start time was a little after 6:30am. The route was 5 miles of winding around downtown before heading south for a few miles and then back north to finish in Grant Park. Each mile there's another band whether it be a full rock band or a drumline. There were also aid stations at pretty much every mile as well. We lucked out with the heat this year, but with the humidity the water and Gatorade were much needed.
The post-race was really spectacular. First I got a wicked looking medal which was a mini-bean. They also handed me an ice cold towel, which felt great. The finish chute offered a variety of post-race snacks. I got a water bottle, Gatorade bottle, chocolate milk, granola bar, banana, and peanut butter crackers. So much food! I would highly recommend bags for all this next year. After the finish area, I walked to the party area. There were more vendors set up and then a biergarten right next to a stage which had different live bands playing for several hours. This was a great party atmosphere to meet up with friends after the race.

This was a very fun half marathon to participate in. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a full weekend experience in Chicago.

Here is a quick rundown:
Positives:
+Party route with live bands
+Fully stocked aid stations
+great expo
+post-race party was fun!

Negatives:
-paying for parking twice in Chicago
-friends couldn't pick up packet