Mitt adding Illinois campaign stops as Tuesday primary heats up

Mitt Romney campaigning in Rosemont on Friday morning.

(Photo by Lynn Sweet)

CHICAGO–As the Illinois Republican primary heats up, Mitt Romney is adding Illinois campaign stops: he will be in southern Illinois Saturday night and in Illinois Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, election day, the Sun-Times has learned.

Earlier in the primary season, Romney was seen as having a lock on Illinois–but is putting in more time in the state as chief rival Rick Santorum has grown stronger. Santorum starts out in Illinois with a delegate deficit: his campaign filed for only 44 of the available 54 delegate slots.

Romney was in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont on Friday morning for a breakfast event before jetting off to Puerto Rico, where there is a Sunday vote. Meanwhile, his campaign released an Illinois ad on Friday which slams

Santorum.

One of Romney’s top surrogates, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appears for Romney in Elmhurst on Friday afternoon. Later Friday Santorum has events in Arlington Heights.

Romney has long scheduled fund-raisers in Chicago and the suburbs on Tuesday–as well as a fund-raiser in Peoria on Monday that has been on the calendar for some time.