The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin through mid-day Saturday. Snow, heavy at times, and blowing snow are predicted. Totals of from 3-7" south of I-88 and 4-9" north of I-88 are forecast, with higher totals possible in some locations. In addition, there will be drifting from blowing snow.  The Weather Service says driving conditions will be hazardous. Localities are activating snow emergencies limiting travel and parking as well. 

A number of schools and organizations are canceling activities:

Members of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists national union will hold  a small protest at Chicago Rockford International Airport Saturday. Northern Illinois and Wisconsin Representative Pete Rosa says the government shutdown furloughed many aviation safety inspectors. He says air travel is unnecessarily at risk.

A federal judge suggests the protracted government shutdown will hurt the federal workforce in the long term. 

Ruben Castillo is Chief Judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. His court has dwindling funds to pay employees and is set to run out January 25th.  He says the poor treatment of government employees, especially the lack of pay, will make young people think twice about seeking out work in the federal government.

A judge on Thursday acquitted three Chicago police officers of trying to cover up the 2014 shooting of Laquan McDonald, ruling that the shocking dashcam video of the black teenager's death did not necessarily tell the whole story.

In casting off the prosecution's entire case, Judge Domenica Stephenson seemed to accept many of the same defense arguments that were rejected by jurors who in October convicted officer Jason Van Dyke of second-degree murder and aggravated battery. He is scheduled to be sentenced Friday.

More than 30,000 Los Angeles teachers are on strike this week.

The biggest issue on the negotiating table has not been teacher salaries, as is common. Instead, LA teachers are worried about class sizes, which can sometimes reach 40 students per class.

Meanwhile, teachers in Denver, Colorado, are nearing a work stoppage of their own.

Federal courts are feeling the effects of the government shutdown.  This includes the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.  It's based in Rockford and Chicago and hears both civil and criminal cases.

Chief District Judge Ruben Castillo says if the court runs out of money to make payroll, it will prioritize criminal cases for people detained and awaiting trial.

“We need to get those cases to trial as soon as we can," he said. "Somebody shouldn’t spend not even one extra day in jail unnecessarily."

Illinois’ crisis centers for sexual violence survivors are starting to feel the effects of the partial government shutdown—now in its fourth week. Funding for services will soon stop coming in.

The Justice Department has given organizations until January 18, when it will stop processing funding requests.