A wealthy suburban city in Illinois is getting slammed for offering a 2.5-hour 'poverty simulation' that it said would show residents what a 'month' of living poor feels like

• The city of Highland Park in Illinois has been criticized for announcing a "poverty simulation."
• It was supposed to be held at a repurposed country club and show residents what it's like to live poor.

Officials of a suburban city in Illinois came under fire on Tuesday for announcing a "poverty simulation" for its residents.

The 2 ½-hour free event, planned for September 9, has since been canceled amid widespread backlash on social media.

Meant to "increase residents' understanding and awareness" of life in poverty, the simulation was to be held at the Highland Park Country Club, a government-owned facility.

"Participants in this immersive experience will begin to experience what a 'month' in poverty feels like," a Tuesday announcement for the simulation said.

The simulation would place people in scenarios where they "do not have enough resources" and "are forced to make difficult choices that can negatively impact them and their families," said the event description.

"The outcome is increased awareness of the need for resources to support those living in poverty to create a more resilient health, human, and education sector in our local area," the announcement added.

But people online criticized the event as tone-deaf.

"What an absolute embarrassment for HP. What is the intended goal of this?" One commenter wrote. "Nothing about spending a few hours at a country club simulates living in poverty. This is a total swing and miss."

Despite its name, the Highland Park Country Club isn't a private country club or golf course but a facility purchased by the local government in the 1990s that has been repurposed as a center for older people, city park, and private event venue, The Chicago Tribune reported, citing city officials.

It was chosen for the simulation because it was the only government-owned space large enough for the event, which was expected to receive about 100 participants, the Highland Park communications manager, Amanda Bennett, told The Tribune.

On Wednesday at 1:53 p.m., the Highland Park government's Facebook account announced that plans for the simulation were canceled.

Highland Park, a city of about 30,000 people that's about 25 miles from Chicago, is a relatively wealthy community, according to statistics from the US Census Bureau.

The city's median household income recorded from 2017 to 2021 was $153,226, more than double the median household income in Illinois, which was $72,563 in the same time period.

Representatives for Highland Park did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.