Romney wins Illinois primary - FT.com Mitt Romney has won the Illinois primary in the Republican presidential nomination contest, giving him a much-needed big-state victory as he tries to regain his mantle as the candidate to take on Barack Obama this November. The win will inject new momentum into his campaign following a string of successes in marginal areas such as Puerto Rico and Hawaii, and losses to Rick Santorum, the social conservative, in Mississippi and Alabama last week. The race is also closely watched because Illinois is the state Mr Obama represented as a senator. Early results after the polls closed at 7pm local time gave Mr Romney the lead and CNN and the Associated Press both called the race for him within 45 minutes. With 48 per cent of the vote counted an hour and a half after the polls closed, Mr Romney had 49.8 per cent while Mr Santorum had 32.6 per cent. Exit polls suggested Mr Romney would maintain his lead. They showed he dominated the vote in urban areas, which make up about 70 per cent of the state and is an electorate Mr Romney has fared well with. The majority of voters who responded to exit poll inquiries said the economy was the most important issue. Those who felt the economy was starting to recover preferred Mr Romney, while those who felt the economy was getting worse preferred Mr Santorum, CNN reported. But turn-out across the state was low, with Chicago election officials predicting the city's lowest turnout ever for a presidential primary. Only 15 per cent of eligible voters had cast their ballots by 2pm, well down on the previous record low of 32 per cent, set in 1996. Illinois will award its delegates to the Republican convention, which will choose the nominee, on a district-by-district basis, meaning that Mr Santorum is still poised to pick up some delegates on Tuesday even if Mr Romney wins the state as a whole. Illinois (48%) Mr Santorum is disqualified from capturing at least 10 of the state's 54 available because his campaign did not file the necessary paperwork. Mr Romney so far has 436, Mr Santorum has 170, while Newt Gingrich trails with 133 and Ron Paul with 26. Mr Romney had a clear lead in surveys of voter intention going into the competition, seen as a statistical tie just a week ago, for Illinois, where 54 convention delegates are up for grabs. His surge was partly due to a gaffe by his main rival, Mr Santorum, who on Tuesday suggested he wasn't concerned about unemployment. Doing last-minute campaign in north-western Illinois on Monday, Mr Santorum, former Pennsylvania senator and social conservative, declared that he "didn't care about the unemployment rate" and argued that "the campaign doesn't hinge on unemployment rates." "One of the people who is running also for the Republican nomination today said that he doesn't care about the unemployment rate," Mr Romney at a rally at Bradley University in Peora. I am concerned about those how are out of work.