Jobs at small Chicago companies nobody posts about (update)

I asked around at a community meeting and got three leads. I am in Chicago, in case local advice matters. They like a brief email with a résumé. Does anyone have similar leads?

Small employers often hire on recommendation. Ask neighbours, former co-workers and your library.

A short email with two sentences about what you can do and your résumé attached worked for me. I followed up after a week.