CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Some school districts are sending students home early as Illinois braces for a storm that promises heavy snow and, in some places, a thick layer of ice.The National Weather Service expects the storm to drop up to 14 inches of snow in parts of northern Illinois Thursday night and Friday. A combination of snow and sleet is forecast for the Chicago area, with about a foot possible overnight.

The weather service is predicting up to an inch of ice Thursday night and Friday from the Peoria area to Kankakee.

Some schools in the Bloomington area are planning to end the school day early. Some eastern Illinois districts canceled classes Thursday because of roads still slick from a storm earlier this week.