US Chamber of Commerce borrows from Trump's populist playbook

Chicago

DIANA Conley sat like a sparrow among eagles as the US Chamber of Commerce kicked off a nationwide "listening tour" billed as a chance to gather the views of small business owners.

Most of the attendees at the chamber's breakfast meeting in a downtown Chicago hotel came from the area's biggest employers, businesses including JPMorgan Chase & Co, Allstate Corp and BMO Harris Bank.

Ms Conley, whose telecommunications company employs just 10 people, said she wasn't quite sure what she had to share with the nation's largest and most powerful corporate lobbying group.

"I have no relation with the national chamber," said Ms Conley, a member of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. She views the national group …