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Christie aids Mitt Romney in Illinois

WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney is going all-in in Illinois to try to tamp down Rick Santorum’s momentum before another big primary battle Tuesday, bringing in his biggest cheerleader, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, to try to drum up support.

Romney packed new Illinois events into his schedule and revved up a bus tour to hit some of the conservative rural areas that have fueled Santorum’s rise. Romney’s camp blasted Santorum yesterday in a TV ad as “another economic lightweight.”

Stumping in Elmhurst, Christie said Romney shouldn’t be ashamed of getting rich from hard work. “Do we really want a failure in the White House? What’s this argument?” Christie said.

But in a preview of the fall election, the Republicans were joined in Illinois yesterday by President Obama, who jetted into hometown Chicago to harvest campaign cash and steal a bit of the limelight.

“My message to all the candidates is: ‘Welcome to the land of Lincoln,’ because I am thinking maybe some Lincoln will rub off on them while they are here,” Obama told a crowd of 600 backers at a $2,500-per-plate fund-raiser.

A new Fox News poll of Illinois Republicans puts Santorum just 6 points behind Romney, 37 to 31, in a state that demographically should be comfortably in Romney’s column.

Battle for Illinois

The latest polls ahead of the Tuesday primary:

Romney: 37%

Santorum: 31%

Gingrich: 14%

Source: Fox News / We Ask America survey