Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Illinois voters made a choice at the polls Tuesday to change the leadership of the United States.

"Elections are about choices," he said. "And today, hundreds of thousands of people in Illinois have joined millions of people across the country to join in our cause. What a night.

"We shared a conviction that the America we love was adrift without strong leadership." 

Romney acknowledged the strong win at the Schaumburg Convention Center just shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday. Romney was a double-digit margin ahead of candidate Sen. Rick Santorum, according to CNN.

"This president is crushing the dreams and the dreamers, and I will make sure that finally ends," Romney said to the crowd chanting for him in Schaumburg.

Romney took the stage with his wife, Ann Romney, who wished him a happy anniversary.

"I am so moved by the people of this country," Ann Romney said.