Romney cruises to Illinois victory
Mitt Romney cruises to a comfortable victory in Illinois, moving him one step closer to clinching the Republican Party's presidential nomination.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) MITT ROMNEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE:<br/> <br />"You know, elections are about choices and today hundreds of thousands of people in Illinois have joined millions of people across the country to join our cause"<br/> <br />The front runner's easy victory gave him a fresh burst of momentum in the White House campaign.<br/> <br />The win expands his lead over the other candidates, adding weight to his argument for Republicans to rally around his campaign and end the bitter nominating battle.<br/> <br />In second place behind Romney both in Illinois and overall was Rick Santorum.<br/> <br />Despite the setback there was fighting talk from Santorum - who has positioned himself as the true conservative in the race.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE RIC SANTORUM:<br/> <br />"This is not an election about not who's the best person to manage Washington or manage the economy. We don't need a manager. We need someone who's going to pull up government by the roots and throw it out and do something to liberate the private sector in America. That's what we need."<br/> <br />Heading into the voting, Santorum had 239 delegates and Romney 521 in the race for the 1144 needed to win the nomination.<br/> <br />Simon Hanna, Reuters.
